Guest on TV show collapses during live telecast

In a shocking incident, a well-known educationist collapsed and died here on Monday during the live telecast of a popular regional Doordarshan TV show.

Rita Jatinder, 86, who was also a writer, was answering questions about her life and achievements on the channel's 'Good Morning J&K' show when she dramatically slumped on her chair, stunning the anchors and viewers.

Show host Zahid Mukhtar told IANS that Jatinder was at that point of time imitating the now ailing Bollywood star Dilip Kumar.

"When she collapsed, we thought she was acting... It took us a few moments to realise something was seriously wrong.

"We tried to revive her. Producers, our assistants, everyone tried to revive her. But she did not respond. She was rushed to a hospital where she was declared brought dead," Mukhtar said.

Jatinder was a former Secretary of the Academy of Art, Culture and Languages in the Jammu and Kashmir government.

The Jammu-based educationist was supposed to attend three shows in all in Srinagar, including one for Radio Kashmir.

'Good Morning J&K' is a widely watched TV show that has run for over 15 years, attracting some of the best talent as its guests.

--IANS

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