Leaders across the world are bracing up for the death of former South African President Nelson Mandela, which could take place within days, going by his present health outlook. The iconic Mandela has been hospitalised again in serious condition for a lung condition since last week Saturday and prayers are being offered for his recovery.

Officials in Washington and around the world are bracing for the death of the longtime civil rights leader, according to Washington Examiner.

“It looks bad. Washington is keeping a close eye on the former leader and civil rights hero,” the paper quoted one U.S. official as saying.

Washington Examiner said “expectations are that President Obama and possibly former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush would attend a funeral,” adding that “no travel plans have been made, however.”

Mandela, who spent in prison for 27 years before being freed and eventually winning the presidency, has been in a Pretoria hospital since exactly a week ago, his fourth hospital trip for lung ailments.

“World leaders were shaken when Zuma on Saturday appealed for prayers and Mandela’s wife, children’s rights activist Graca Machel, canceled a speech in Britain to remain by his side,” Washington Examiner reported.

It said that “news reports noted that comments from South African officials have been suggesting that Mandela is near death. Jackson Mthembu, spokesman for the African National Congress, told Sky News that the party was ‘prepared for the worst.’ Even Mandela's estranged wife Winnie visited him.”

Back in March, there was another health scare for Mandela, but he recovered. He contracted tuberculosis while he was in jail for fighting apartheid. Freed in 1990, Mandela was elected president four years later. He helped to heal the years of segregation and rejected calls to continue in office beyond the first term.

•Photo: Mandela.