Moroccan authorities are searching for clues to the cause of a glider crash near Rabat that claimed the life of a brother of the president of the UAE.
By Mawassi Lahcen and Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 31/03/10
The body of a missing Emirati prince was found in a Rabat lake on Tuesday (March 30th). Sheikh Ahmed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the 41-year-old Abu Dhabi Investment Authority chief and younger brother of Emirates President Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, has been the subject of a frantic search by Moroccan and international rescue teams since his glider crashed last Friday near Rabat.
Authorities transferred Sheikh Ahmed's body from Morocco to the UAE on Wednesday (March 31st), an informed source told Magharebia. US rescue workers found the body in the waters behind Mohammed ben Abdullah Dam near Rabat, added the source, who asked to remain anonymous.
The prince's body will be buried today after funeral prayers Wednesday afternoon in Abu Dhabi, the source said. The UAE has declared three days of mourning. Moroccan King Mohammed VI on Tuesday sent his condolences to UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the older brother of the deceased.
Sheikh Ahmed, the 15th son of the late UAE president Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was managing director of the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Forbes listed him as the world's 27th richest man.
Rescue workers found the body after a four-day search of the waters behind the dam, where his glider crashed on March 26th. Authorities transferred his body to the Sheikh Zayed Hospital in the capital before returning the remains to the UAE.
News of the prince's death shocked many Moroccans, according to Mohammed Smiri, 24.
"Since Friday, people had been talking about nothing other than this tragic event, and hoping that the outcome would be favorable," he said.
Locals volunteered to help the rescue workers during the search, Smiri said, adding: "People were circulating pictures of him so that he could be recognized if found."
Moroccan security forces sealed off the lake to journalists and locals who came to watch the search-and-rescue operation. Authorities led the rescue efforts from a palace belonging to UAE Interior Minister Sheikh Seif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which is located near the scene of the crash.
Search teams from Morocco, the UAE, France, Spain, Denmark and the United States, including 100 divers and four emergency doctors, scoured the lake that lies along the 25-mile long dam. Mud, water and debris washed in from recent rains and flooding impeded the search.
A US rescue team used special cameras designed for exploring shallow water to identify potential bodies at the bottom of the lake. Divers checking those points eventually found the body of Sheikh Ahmed.
Investigators have not established why the prince's glider plunged into the water, according to one source. Sheikh Ahmed managed to unfasten his safety belt and jump before the crash, another source said, but the flooded lake's waters apparently proved overwhelming.
Fishermen rescued the glider's Spanish pilot in the evening on the day of the crash. The pilot also managed to jump out of the glider before it went down, and rescuers rushed him to the Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Rabat. Locals were surprised that the pilot had survived while the prince had died, said one resident, Fatima.
"We are waiting for the findings of the inquiry so we can understand what happened," she said.
The prince was the second son of Sheikh Zayed to die in an aviation incident. Sheikh Nassir Bin Ahmed Al Nahyan died in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Gulf in June 2008.
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/03/31/feature-01.
By Mawassi Lahcen and Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 31/03/10
The body of a missing Emirati prince was found in a Rabat lake on Tuesday (March 30th). Sheikh Ahmed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the 41-year-old Abu Dhabi Investment Authority chief and younger brother of Emirates President Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, has been the subject of a frantic search by Moroccan and international rescue teams since his glider crashed last Friday near Rabat.
Authorities transferred Sheikh Ahmed's body from Morocco to the UAE on Wednesday (March 31st), an informed source told Magharebia. US rescue workers found the body in the waters behind Mohammed ben Abdullah Dam near Rabat, added the source, who asked to remain anonymous.
The prince's body will be buried today after funeral prayers Wednesday afternoon in Abu Dhabi, the source said. The UAE has declared three days of mourning. Moroccan King Mohammed VI on Tuesday sent his condolences to UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the older brother of the deceased.
Sheikh Ahmed, the 15th son of the late UAE president Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was managing director of the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Forbes listed him as the world's 27th richest man.
Rescue workers found the body after a four-day search of the waters behind the dam, where his glider crashed on March 26th. Authorities transferred his body to the Sheikh Zayed Hospital in the capital before returning the remains to the UAE.
News of the prince's death shocked many Moroccans, according to Mohammed Smiri, 24.
"Since Friday, people had been talking about nothing other than this tragic event, and hoping that the outcome would be favorable," he said.
Locals volunteered to help the rescue workers during the search, Smiri said, adding: "People were circulating pictures of him so that he could be recognized if found."
Moroccan security forces sealed off the lake to journalists and locals who came to watch the search-and-rescue operation. Authorities led the rescue efforts from a palace belonging to UAE Interior Minister Sheikh Seif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which is located near the scene of the crash.
Search teams from Morocco, the UAE, France, Spain, Denmark and the United States, including 100 divers and four emergency doctors, scoured the lake that lies along the 25-mile long dam. Mud, water and debris washed in from recent rains and flooding impeded the search.
A US rescue team used special cameras designed for exploring shallow water to identify potential bodies at the bottom of the lake. Divers checking those points eventually found the body of Sheikh Ahmed.
Investigators have not established why the prince's glider plunged into the water, according to one source. Sheikh Ahmed managed to unfasten his safety belt and jump before the crash, another source said, but the flooded lake's waters apparently proved overwhelming.
Fishermen rescued the glider's Spanish pilot in the evening on the day of the crash. The pilot also managed to jump out of the glider before it went down, and rescuers rushed him to the Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Rabat. Locals were surprised that the pilot had survived while the prince had died, said one resident, Fatima.
"We are waiting for the findings of the inquiry so we can understand what happened," she said.
The prince was the second son of Sheikh Zayed to die in an aviation incident. Sheikh Nassir Bin Ahmed Al Nahyan died in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Gulf in June 2008.
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/03/31/feature-01.
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