At 94 Our Humans Right Hero Slipping Away-The World Awaits

Wellwishers have been visiting the hospital in Pretoria for the past two weeks

Nelson Mandela has become critically ill in hospital, the South African presidency has announced.

President Jacob Zuma said he had visited Mr Mandela and spoken to his wife and medical teams.

Doctors were "doing everything possible to get his condition to improve" said Mr Zuma in a statement.

South Africa's first black president, 94, was taken to hospital in Pretoria earlier this month for the third time this year, with a lung infection.

Mr Zuma said he had been told by doctors on Sunday that the former president's condition had worsened over the past 24 hours. 

"The doctors are doing everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba is well-looked after and is comfortable. He is in good hands," said President Zuma, using Mr Mandela's clan name by which he is widely known in South Africa.

The BBC's Andrew Harding in Johannesburg says the release of information relating to Mr Mandela is always carefully controlled by the government to avoid sparking alarm.

Describing his condition as critical will be very worrying for South Africans, many of whom see him as like a family member, our correspondent says.

There has been little information about his condition in recent days. On 13 June Mr Zuma said Mr Mandela's health continued to improve but that his condition remained serious.

More recently, one of Mr Mandela's grandsons, Ndaba Mandela, said his grandfather was getting better and he hoped he would be home soon. 

On Saturday, it emerged that the ambulance in which Mr Mandela was taken to hospital on 8 June broke down, meaning he had to be moved to another vehicle.

But Mr Zuma said he had been assured that "all care was taken to ensure his medical condition was not compromised".

"There were seven doctors in the convoy who were in full control of the situation throughout the period. He had expert medical care," he said.

Mr Zuma also denied reports that the former leader had suffered a cardiac arrest.

sourceBBC