Dubai: World leaders sent their condolences on Wednesday, a day after the body of Shaikh Ahmad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan was found in Morocco following a four- day search.
A three-day official mourning period starting on Wednesday has been announced.
President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday announced the death of Shaikh Ahmad after his glider crashed over a lake south of Rabat in Morocco on Friday, behind the Sidi Mohammad Bin Abdullah dam. However, the pilot of the glider was rescued.
Shaikh Ahmad was the managing director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority as well as the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Zayed Foundation for Charitable and Humanitarian Works.
Obituary: Shaikh Ahmad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
The extensive search by a team of divers from five countries ended on Tuesday. Emirates news agency WAM had announced earlier that the search radius had been reduced after the expansive areas around the crash site were searched.
The Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced three days of mourning starting on Wednesday during which flags will be kept at half mast.
Born in 1969, Shaikh Ahmad was the younger brother of Shaikh Khalifa and had little media exposure. He was one of the youngest business executives and was ranked 27th on the 2009 Forbes list of the world's most powerful people.
Funeral prayers will be offered at the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi after Asr prayers on Wednesday. Shaikh Khalifa will receive condolences at Al Mushrif Palace after the burial.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Moroccan King Mohammad, Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha, Tunisian President Zein Al Abidine Ben Ali, and Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir expressed their condolences to President Khalifa.
