Indian classical dancer in UAE dies of cardiac arrest

A 47-year-old Indian classical dancer, who was a prominent face in the UAE's cultural circuit, died here after a cardiac arrest, her family said, amidst the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Deepa Nair, who hailed from Kerala and also worked as a freelance events manager, died on Sunday at her home in Al Nahda, the Khaleej Times reported.

"We feel she could have survived had it not been for these unprecedented coronavirus times," Deepa's husband, Suraj Moosad was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

"She had hysterical abdominal distention and had surgery for that in 2011. She used to complain of stomach cramps and diarrhoea often.

"Early morning on Sunday, when she was feeling really unwell, we took her to a Dubai hospital where they warned us that there were already around 140 COVID-19 patients and as she had a compromised immunity, admitting her to the emergency may not be a good idea," he was quoted as saying.

The family then headed to another hospital where they apparently stated that her admission was not possible as there were no available beds due to a surge in COVID-19 patients, the report said.

Then, she was taken to another clinic in the city where she was finally admitted and administered pain killers. The following day she was discharged in the morning.

"But even after we returned home, she was feeling extremely unwell and her hands and feet were turning cold. But we didn't take her to a hospital now as we knew from our previous day's experience that we would be turned down. So, we called the police and ambulance instead," said Moosad, who has been living in Dubai for the past 19 years.

"On Sunday afternoon, she herself said that she was sinking and even we could see her slipping away. Meanwhile, the ambulance that was on the way to our house, gave us instructions over the phone as to how we could administer her cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

"Soon after, the first ambulance arrived and they tried to revive her. After half an hour, another ambulance followed, which was better equipped to help patients in critical situations. But by then it was too late. She had passed away by 4 pm due to cardiac arrest," the husband said.