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Sweden

King of Sweden sends condolences to US President over Miami building collapse

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has sent a condolence message to US President Joe Biden after a bundling collapse in Miami, Florida, killed 12. The beachfront condo building collapsed in the early morning of 24 June.

The King of Sweden said in his telegram to Washington: “The Queen and I wish to express our sincere condolences on the tragic loss of life following the building collapse in Surfside, Miami. We also wish to offer our heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims and to the people of the United States.”

King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia’s youngest child, Princess Madeleine, resides in Miami with her family: husband, Chris O’Neill and children, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas, and Princess Adrienne. The family is currently in Sweden to spend the summer after being unable to travel to Europe in 2020 due to the global health crisis.

Princess Madeleine has not made any comment on the building collapse.

A large rescue operation is still underway at the site of the collapse; 149 people remain unaccounted for, while rescuers work in one of the largest rescue operations in recent memory in the United States.

Questions remain on the cause of the collapse, but an engineering inspection in 2018 detailed many issues with the building in a nine-page report. Five weeks later, an official in Surfside calmed the public by telling them the building was in good condition. In 2020, there were signs of sinking land in the area, according to a study by researchers at Florida International University and the University of Padua. In April 2021, a letter was sent to residents of the condo telling them that the condition of the building had been deteriorating since 2018; $15 million was proposed to correct the issues in the tower.

The Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Daniella Levine Cava, has announced an audit on all residences that are at least 40 years old and five storeys high.

President Biden is due to visit the site of the collapse on Thursday.

About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. She's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites including Global News Canada, ABC News Australia, WION India and BBC World News.