Father dies of heart attack as son writes exam

The father of a Tamil Nadu youth who was writing the medical entrance exam in Kerala's Ernakulam district died of a heart attack on Sunday, said a hotel employee where the two had checked in a day earlier.

Hailing from Tiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu, around 340 km from here, Krishnaswamy and his son Kasturi Mahalingam checked into the Airlines Hotel on Saturday morning.

"Our staff got an auto-rickshaw for the boy to reach the exam centre in the morning. Later, the father called the reception complaining of ill health and was taken to a hospital," a hotel staffer told IANS over phone from Ernakulam.

An official of City Hospital told IANS: "Krishnaswamy came to the hospital around 8.20 a.m. and his sugar levels were high. He was conscious and oriented. Unfortunately, he collapsed soon after that. We could not revive him."

The official said police were informed and later the body was handed over to the relatives.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami said a solatium of Rs 300,000 would be paid to the family of Krishnaswamy.

In Kochi, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said police will make arrangements to send back the body.

Calling it a sad incident, he said the Kerala authorities will accompany the body till the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.

MDMK leader Vaiko said around 5,600 students were made to write the medical entrance exam in states like Kerala and Rajasthan.

--IANS

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