Indian student dies of cardiac arrest during Diwali celebrations in Dubai

DUBAI : An 18-year-old Indian student, recipient of the UAE Golden Visa, died of cardiac arrest in Dubai during Diwali celebrations, local media reported. Vaishnav Krishnakumar, a first-year BBA Marketing student at Middlesex University Dubai, reportedly collapsed during a Diwali celebration on Tuesday at Dubai International Academic City, the Gulf News reported on Wednesday. He was rushed to the hospital, but the doctors declared him “brought dead due to cardiac arrest,” the report added.

According to the family, the Dubai Police Forensic Department is conducting further investigations, adding that Vaishnav had no known heart problems. “His parents want to take his body to Kerala for the final rites, so we are getting the paperwork sorted for it. We are hoping that everything will be done and they can fly home on Friday,” Vaishnav's uncle and Dubai resident Nitish told Khaleej Times. “We still don’t have a clear picture of exactly what happened,” Nitish added.

Gopi Karnavar, a relative and neighbour of Vaishnav, whose family hails from Karazhma in Chennithala, Alappuzha, said the family visited their native place two years ago. “They rarely visited Chennithala. The last time they came here was for the housewarming ceremony of their newly built home two years ago,” Karnavar told PTI in Alappuzha. He said Vaishnav’s father, Krishnakumar, has been working in Dubai for over 20 years. “Vaishnav and his younger sister were born and brought up there. He was a smart and intelligent boy with most of his friends in Dubai,” he added. “We were informed that the body will reach the house on Friday. The cremation is planned on the premises of their home on Saturday,” Karnavar said.

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Meanwhile, Middlesex University, in a condolence statement, said Vaishnav's “loss has deeply affected our community”, Gulf News reported. GEMS Our Own Indian School, where Vaishnav studied, called him a compassionate and talented student loved by all. The school has postponed upcoming events in his memory. Teachers and classmates remembered Vaishnav as a bright, caring, and inspiring young man whose sudden death has left the Indian community in sorrow. He is survived by his parents, VG Krishnakumar and Vidhu Krishnakumar and younger sister Vrishti Krishnakumar, the report said.