An ambulance rushing former president Nelson Mandela to hospital for emergency treatment broke down on a motorway, forcing him and his doctors to wait for up to 40 minutes in the cold, South Africa's presidency has confirmed.
Mr Mandela, 94, was taken from his home in Johannesburg to hospital in Pretoria the early hours of June 8 after his doctors decided he needed intensive care treatment for the recurring infection.
It has now emerged that the military ambulance transporting him had an engine problem and broke down. Mr Mandela and his team of doctors from the department of defence, which handles the care of all former heads of state, were reportedly forced to wait for up to 40 minutes for a replacement to arrive.
A statement from President Jacob Zuma's office said all care was taken to ensure that Mr Mandela was not adversely affected by the "unforeseen incident".
"Doctors are satisfied that the former president suffered no harm during this period," spokesman Mac Maharaj said.
"The fully equipped military Intensive Care Unit ambulance had a full complement of specialist medical staff including intensive care specialists and ICU nurses. The convoy also included two quick response vehicles."
In the same statement the presidency said that Mr Mandela was still in a "serious but stable condition" and appealed to the public and the media to continue to respect his privacy and that of his family.
It was the first, keenly-awaited update on the health of South Africa's first black president in almost a week.
Last weekend, Mr Zuma said that while Mr Mandela's condition remained serious, he had made a "sustained recovery" over two days.
It came following a series of reports that gave differing accounts of his condition. One, citing his grandson Ndaba, claimed he would be returning home "soon".
Thabo Mbeki, who succeeded Mr Mandela as president, also told a local radio station Power FM that he was in "very close contact" with Mr Mandela's family and he was "improving". "I don't think anybody should kind of entertain some wrong notion that Nelson Mandela is about to die tomorrow," he said.
"He's not going to. I think we really need to feel comforted that we still have him with us now and will have him with us in future."
But another report by a US broadcaster claimed that Mr Mandela's condition was far worse than suggested and his family were discussing how long his intensive medical care should continue.
The Telegraph understands that while Mr Mandela has been able to acknowledge and smile at his visiting family in the past week, his doctors are not optimistic about him making the full recovery hoped for by so many people in South Africa and around the world. "He is very, very sick, there's no denying that," said a source with knowledge of the situation.
Meanwhile The White House confirmed on Saturday that Mr Obama may meet members of Mr Mandela's family instead of the Nobel laureate himself, as was originally planned, when he visits South Africa next week with his wife Michelle and two daughters. Mr Obama, who last met Mr Mandela soon after he was elected a senator in 2005, has described him as "one of my personal heroes".
