Second cracked tower sparks fears about Australia building rules

Australia's building and construction codes came under scrutiny Sunday after hundreds of residents were evacuated from a high-rise Sydney apartment block where cracks were discovered in the second such scare in six months. Some residents said they were left homeless and in tears after they were ordered to leave the 10-storey, 122-apartment Mascot Towers in a southern Sydney suburb late Friday after cracks were found in the structure's beams.
"At this stage, the engineers need to look at the cracks in those beams while the residents aren't there," Fire and Rescue New South Wales state Assistant Commissioner Roger Mentha told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.