Rescue teams from the UAE are facing “challenging” conditions as they continue to search for Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is still missing following a glider accident on Friday.
The UAE Search and Rescue Team is in Morocco alongside international search teams after the sheikh’s glider crashed into a lake near the Sidi Mohammed bin Abdullah Dam near Rabat.
According to news agency WAM, the UAE team said that due to the nature of the terrain, survey and tracking efforts were “especially challenging”.
The pilot of the glider who was rescued after the crash is now in a stable condition, WAM added.
The aircraft of Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahayan, the younger brother of the ruler of Abu Dhabi, who is also president of the UAE, crashed into a reservoir 10km (6 miles) south of the Moroccan capital Rabat on Friday.
Sheikh Ahmed is in his early 40s and was ranked No 27 on Forbes list of the world’s most powerful people last year.
His sovereign wealth fund is believed to have assets of around $500 to $700 billion, ranging from Citigroup bonds to a stake in Britain’s Gatwick airport to residential property in major cities.
Few details have emerged about the accident except that the pilot of the craft was rescued after it crashed near Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah Dam.
Residents of the area said the sheikh was a regular visitor and that the Abu Dhabi royal family had a palace overlooking the reservoir, which is swollen due to high rainfall and estimated to be about 60 metres deep.
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