IIT Madras Alumnus Dies Of Heart Attack In UAE Hours After Dropping Off Wife, Son At Airport

Hariraj Sudevan, a 37-year-old Indian-origin man, died of a heart attack in the UAE, just hours after saying goodbye to his family at Abu Dhabi International Airport. According to Gulf News, he had dropped his wife and son off at the airport and was visiting a friend's home to celebrate a birthday when he suddenly fell ill around 11:40 pm on Sunday, October 5. Despite efforts to revive him, Sudevan was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Notbaly, his wife Dr. Anu Ashok and son Ishaan Dev Hari had spent 10 days with him before they returned home to Kerala on Sunday evening. They typically visit every six months, and Sudevan would often travel to Kerala for his son's birthdays. He had planned to visit again this month to celebrate Ishaan's 10th birthday on October 27. His father-in-law, Ashokan KP, shared that he was looking forward to being there for the celebration. 

He told Gulf News, "We are all devastated and finding it difficult to accept the reality that he is no more."

Sudevan, an IIT Madras alumnus, had been working in the UAE for over 12 years as a senior offshore construction engineer. He earned his B.Tech from CUSAT and MTech from IIT Madras.

What exactly happened?

Hariraj Sudevan had dropped his wife and son at Abu Dhabi International Airport and then visited his friend Digin Thomas' home to celebrate Thomas' daughter's birthday. 

"So, after returning from the airport, he came to my apartment, and we spent some nice time together. We had a cake cutting ceremony, and he gifted my daughter and played with my children. All my children are very close to him," Digin Thomas said.

Around 11:40 pm, Hariraj felt uneasy, complaining of breathing difficulties and sweating. His roommate Sujith alerted Thomas and another friend, and an ambulance was called. Despite paramedics performing CPR and rushing him to the hospital, doctors couldn't save him. 

"Doctors tried for almost half an hour to revive him, but they couldn't save him," Thomas said.

Sudevan was diabetic, but he kept it under control through diet and yoga and was also an avid badminton player. However, he had recently mentioned some concerns with his ECG results from a routine offshore checkup.

"But he got it checked by the doctor and did some additional tests also, which were fine. He was suffering from some heartburn mainly after eating, so he also thought it was related to gastric problems," Thomas added. 

His funeral was held on Tuesday in his hometown in Kerala's Alappuzha.