The Nation - News from April 27, 1987

L’Ambiance Plaza, the Bridgeport, Conn., apartment building under construction that collapsed, may have been built on ground too weak to support the 13-story structure, according to a review of city records by the Hartford Courant and two professional engineers. Design plans for the building called for “undisturbed rock” to support the load of seven tons per square foot, although the plans said that compacted soil could be substituted. An engineer hired by the paper said records show that the building was being erected on compacted earth and broken rock, which he said generally does not support more than three to four tons per square foot. Rescuers have located 15 bodies at the site and recovered 13. There are 13 unaccounted for.