A celebratory mood at the Kerala Assembly turned deadly on Monday when an employee collapsed suddenly while dancing during Onam celebration and eventually succumbed.
The shocking incident, which was captured as video, has later become viral on social media.
The victim has been identified as Junais, aged 45, an assistant librarian at the Assembly and a former personal assistant to MLA P.V. Anwar. A native of Wayanad, Junais was taking part in the celebrations, which involved cultural shows and sporting events like tug-of-war. His team had already won earlier during the day.
Junais collapsed on stage during the performance, where he and the other performers danced to the popular Onam melody ‘Ethu Mood’! At first the crowd thought it was part of the act, but panic broke out when he had not stood up. Colleagues sprang into action to help him, and he was transported to the General Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram and doctors declared him dead upon arrival.
The heart-stopping death occurs days after Dr. Gradlin Roy, a 39-year-old cardiac surgeon based in Chennai, collapsed while on ward rounds at a private hospital. Although he was given instant medical attention, he lost his life due to a massive cardiac arrest resulting from a total occlusion of the left main coronary artery. His untimely death shook the medical community and brought out the mounting issue of concealed cardiac hazards even among doctors.
Preliminary medical assessments suggest that a silent heart attack may have caused his untimely death. The accident, filmed and circulating on social media, shocked co-workers and family.The Assembly celebrations were stopped in their tracks, and tributes rolled in from all over Kerala. Legislators, employees, and admirers described Junais as an energetic and jovial participant in cultural events.
The incident occurs against a backdrop of increasing concern about sudden cardiac arrests while engaging in high-energy activities.In a recent incident, a 39-year-old cardio surgeon, Dr. Gradlin Roy, fell during ward rounds at Chennai and died from a massive cardiac arrest, demonstrating the variability of concealed cardiac diseases. A similar incident happened in August, when a woman, Jeeva, dropped dead while dancing at a wedding reception in Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu.