RABAT: Rescuers searching for a brother of the United Arab Emirates president whose glider crashed in Morocco combed through rugged terrain and swampland on Sunday near the capital Rabat, officials said.
Sheikh Ahmed Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan is managing director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, considered the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund with assets estimated at more than $600 billion.
The pilot, a Spanish national, survived Friday’s crash into an artificial lake in an area where the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah dam is located.
He remained hospitalized in stable condition Sunday, a statement published by the UAE’s state news agency WAM said.
A Moroccan source close to the probe said the search for Sheikh Ahmed and debris from the glider, also not yet found, was complicated by recent heavy rain that had left water levels high and swamped surrounding areas.
"The dam is 100 percent full because of strong rain that recently hit," the source said.
The UAE statement said an Emirate search team was on the scene and was being assisted by rescuers from other countries.
It also warned of "enormous difficulties in its search in a rugged area comprising mountains and vast swampland."
The cause of the crash remained unclear.
Sheikh Ahmed is a younger brother of Emirate President Sheikh Khalifa in Zayed Al-Nahayan, who is also the ruler of Abu Dhabi, although he is not in the immediate line of succession for the throne of the oil-rich emirate.
He has a home in the area where the glider crashed, frequented by members of the family.
