PRESIDENT Clinton ordered flags lowered to half mast yesterday as official Washington took time out to grieve for the Commerce Secretary, Mr Ron Brown, killed when his plane crashed into a Croatian hillside on Wednesday.
"Many people here at the White House are mourning the loss of our friend," a White House spokesman, Mr Michael McCurry, said, confirming that Mr Brown's body had been found in the wreckage.
Mr McCurry was angered by questions about Mr Brown's successor, noting bitterly that no time had been lost in floating possible names around the capital.
The US ambassador to Croatia said the Boeing 737 bringing Mr Brown and 32 others to Dubrovnik was off course as it approached the airport and then crashed,
"Instead of flying along the coast it was one valley over," the ambassador, Mr Peter Galbraith, said, pointing to a possible explanation for the accident, Gerry Moriarty reports from Belfast.
Tributes continued to flow in yesterday to Mr Brown, emphasising the depth of the impression left on Northern Ireland and other countries by the late US Commerce Secretary.
Unionist, republican and British government politicians agreed his death was a tragedy. Around the world similar sentiments were voiced at the highest levels.
Mr Charles Meissner, one of the chief architects of US investment in Northern Ireland, also died in the crash. All the 33 people on board are understood to have perished.
The US ambassador to Ireland, Mrs Jean Kennedy Smith, described Mr Brown as a compassionate man and a "dear friend of Ireland".
"His humanity and optimism touched everyone he met, and he will be sorely missed," she said yesterday.
The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, sent a message of condolence to President Clinton on the loss of his political ally in the crash.
Mr Adams expressed a "profound sense of shock, distress and sadness" on learning of the deaths of Mr Brown, Mr Meissner and the others travelling on the ill fated flight. He said that on the several occasions he met Mr Brown he was impressed by his genuine interest in seeking to underpin the peace process in Ireland through the promotion and creation of long term US investment opportunities and economic and research links.
Mr Reg Empey, a former Ulster Unionist lord mayor of Belfast, said Mr Brown and Mr Meissner, were deeply committed to encouraging trade and investment in Northern Ireland. He described Mr Meissner, with whom he had several dealings, as a man who worked "tirelessly" to encourage economic development.
"In their sorrow, the families of Ron Brown and Chuck Meissner should be very proud of the gifts they gave us in Northern Ireland said Baroness Denton, the North's economy minister. "They didn't have to the US has many needs of its own - but they did and they delivered."
Reuter, AFP adds:
Speaking in New York on Wednesday, Mr Carl Bildt, the senior international official overseeing the civilian aspects of Bosnia's reconstruction, expressed his sorrow at Mr Brown's death.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, expressed "deep sadness" at the death of Mr Brown, who he said had been a friend to the Jewish state.
"Ron Brown was a true friend to Israel who contributed much to developing trade between the two countries," he said.
In Sarajevo, the Bosnian Prime Minister, Mr Hasan Muratovic, said Mr Brown's death was an "enormous tragedy" for both the US and for Bosnia.
. The Croatian President, Dr Franjo Tudjman, will travel to Dubrovnik today to pay his respects before the body of Mr Brown is flown back to the US. Croatian flags will be flown at half mast today and a day of national mourning will be held in the country following a decision by the Croatian cabinet last night.