San Francisco's 'leaning tower' sinking faster than previously thought

By Rob Smith, Buzz60

New information about San Francisco's sinking Millennium Tower has come from space.

According to satellite data released by the European Space Agency, the luxury high rise has continued to sink at a rate of about 1.6 to 1.8 inches over the past year, nearly double the rate that engineers previously estimated.

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The 58-story building opened in 2009 and has been nicknamed the Leaning Tower of San Francisco. Since then, it's sunk 16 inches into a landfill and currently tilts towards the northwest.

Still, the building's developer insists it's safe and could withstand an earthquake.

A spokesman told the Associated Press the building was "designed and constructed to the extraordinarily high standards" required by San Francisco.

However, a current tenant and attorney who has helped organize lawsuits on behalf of other owners isn't buying it. He said: "I can tell you that satellite data is way more accurate than digging in the dirt."