Nine planes linked to the Qatari royal family reportedly made emergency landings in Switzerland at the weekend after the former Emir broke his leg while on holiday.
Qatari authorities confirmed on Tuesday that Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who ruled from 1995 until 2013, when he handed over power to his son, broke his leg and was flown to Switzerland on Saturday.
“On Saturday 26 December, His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani was flown to Zurich, Switzerland for emergency treatment after suffering a broken leg while on holiday,” the government statement said, according to AFP.
“Following a successful operation, his Highness the Father Emir is currently in Zurich recovering and undergoing physiotherapy treatment.”
Swiss civil aviation authorities confirmed to AFP that a number of planes from the Qatari royal fleet had made unscheduled landings at the Zurich-Kloten airport overnight from December 25 to 26.
“The emergency landing clearance was given by the Swiss air force,” a spokesman for Switzerland’s federal office of civil aviation told AFP.
The Guardian reported that nine planes made emergency landings, arriving from both Doha and Marrakech.
Sheikh Hamad is believed to have been holidaying in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco.
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