An Indian civil engineer has died in the UAE while undergoing a scuba diving session during the Eid Al Adha holidays. The 29-year-old man, identified as Issac Paul Olakkengil, was in Dubai with his family when he took the session at Jumerah Beach on Friday (Jun 6), according to a report in Khaleej Times.
Hailing from the southern Indian state of Kerala, Mr Olakkengil was enjoying the holidays alongside his wife, Resham and younger brother, Ivin when the tragedy struck. Mr Olakkengil suffered a cardiac arrest after experiencing difficulty breathing underwater.
As per David Pyarilos, Mr Olakkengil's uncle, who is overseeing the legal procedure for the family, the incident took place during a training session at a designated scuba diving area. Both Reshma and Ivin were also receiving training when the situation took a turn for the worse.
"It seems they were getting trained for scuba diving, and apparently, he [Issac] couldn't breathe properly and moved away from the pack," said Mr Pyarilos.
"So, everyone panicked and was impacted underwater. I was told Reshma was rescued to the shore first, followed by the other two."
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Investigation underway
While Mr Olakkengil was rushed to the hospital, where he could not be saved, his brother, Ivin, collapsed on reaching the hospital and is currently under observation. Mr Pyarilos confirmed that he was out of danger, but doctors were keeping close tabs on him.
"All of them are engineers. While Issac and Reshma are in Dubai, Ivin is based in Abu Dhabi. Ivin's friends just told me they are concerned about breaking this heart-wrenching news to him, as the brothers shared a strong bond," said Pyarilos.
Ivin was only informed about his brother's death on Saturday, while the family works with the police to complete the investigation. The Dubai law enforcement officials have seized the equipment used during the scuba diving session to analyse it.
Mr Olakkengil's dead body will be repatriated to India after receiving the necessary legal documents.
