Ex-Libyan oil minister's body found in Danube
Source: Agencies |
May 1, 2012, Tuesday
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SHUKRI Ghanem, a former Libyan prime minister and oil minister who last year announced he was abandoning Moammar Gadhafi's regime to support rebels who ultimately toppled the dictator, has been found dead in Vienna, Austrian police said.
Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger said the 69-year-old's corpse was found floating in the river Danube early on Sunday morning. The body showed no external signs of violence, but the cause of death was not immediately clear, Hahslinger said.
"There would be no signs of violence if someone pushed him in," Hahslinger said. "But it's also possible that he became ill and fell into the water."
An Austrian foreign ministry official said family members initially told the ministry that Ghanem had died of a heart attack.
Ghanem was dressed normally when found in the river but had no personal identification on him other than a document that named the company he was working for, Hahslinger said. An employee of the company was contacted and identified him.
Hahslinger said Ghanem apparently left his residence early on Sunday after spending Saturday evening at home with an acquaintance. Police were alerted by a passerby who saw his body in the river near his home, close to the building housing UN agencies in the Austrian capital.
Ghanem was his country's oil minister until he left Libya for Tunisia and then Europe last year as insurgents were pushing to topple Gadhafi.
Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger said the 69-year-old's corpse was found floating in the river Danube early on Sunday morning. The body showed no external signs of violence, but the cause of death was not immediately clear, Hahslinger said.
"There would be no signs of violence if someone pushed him in," Hahslinger said. "But it's also possible that he became ill and fell into the water."
An Austrian foreign ministry official said family members initially told the ministry that Ghanem had died of a heart attack.
Ghanem was dressed normally when found in the river but had no personal identification on him other than a document that named the company he was working for, Hahslinger said. An employee of the company was contacted and identified him.
Hahslinger said Ghanem apparently left his residence early on Sunday after spending Saturday evening at home with an acquaintance. Police were alerted by a passerby who saw his body in the river near his home, close to the building housing UN agencies in the Austrian capital.
Ghanem was his country's oil minister until he left Libya for Tunisia and then Europe last year as insurgents were pushing to topple Gadhafi.
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