2nd LD Writethru: Helmut Schmidt dies at age of 96

Helmut Schmidt, who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982, died at age of 96 at his home in Hamburg on Tuesday afternoon, according to German media.

As German media Focus Online reported, the health status of the former Chancellor has deteriorated drastically since Monday.

The report said, his doctors make little hope, as Schmidt should be unconscious at that time.

The personal physician Heiner Greten was quoted as saying that one should now "be prepared for anything".

Schmidt had surgery in early September in Hamburg because of a blood clot in the leg. After two weeks he left the hospital at his own request and returned to his home in Hamburg, where he was looked after around the clock.

Initially, the doctors had high hopes that he could regain his strength back home. However, Greten said on Monday to German newspaper Bild that "his body has barely resistance forces".

As the fifth Chancellor of Germany, Schmidt was considered as the most important Chancellor in the postwar period by the Germans, according to a survey.

Seen as "an old friend of the Chinese people", Schmidt was also a pioneer and promoter of Sino-German relations.

"I am a friend of China and follow the development of China with great attention," he said once in an interview with Xinhua.

Since the first visit to China in 1975, he had visited China more than 10 times.

Schmidt has kept an eye on China's development in recent decades in all respects, and shared his views on the current and future development of China in several books. Enditem