Construction company knew about cracks in collapsed Eindhoven parking garage

Subcontractors warned construction company BAM about possible building faults in a parking garage at Eindhoven Airport two months before it collapsed on May 27th, the subcontractors told EenVandaag. BAM acknowledges that cracks were already visible in March, but experts concluded that it was an "aesthetic issue" not a constructive problem, the company said on Thursday, NU.nl reports.

EenVandaag also showed pictures taken during the construction of the parking garage to a construction expert from engineering firm Royal HaskoningDHV. He told the program that the structure should have been evacuated immediately after the cracks were noticed.

But according to BAM, the width of the cracks was within the regulations. It is no longer possible to determine whether the cracks were or were not a sign of the cause of the collapse, a spokesperson said.

The parking garage collapsed two weeks before its scheduled completion date. Remarkably, no one was injured. Investigation into the cause of the collapse concluded that the floors of the structure were not up to standard and were not strong enough.

This conclusion resulted in the Ministry of Home Affairs ordering municipalities to check whether the same construction method was used in buildings in their areas. Some 150 such buildings were found.