Sharjah: An Indian expat whose younger brother is being treated in Al Qasimi Hospital after suffering a heart attack, himself died of a heart attack at the hospital recently, an official said.
The deceased, Zulfikar Ali, had been regularly visiting his brother, Abid Ali Mumtaz, ever since his brother suffered a heart attack around mid-October, said Naima Khamis Al Naki, head of the social services department at Al Qasimi Hospital.
During one such visit recently, Ali suffered a heart attack within the hospital precincts, said his brother’s co-worker, who did not wished to be named.
Ali was admitted and treated but died a few days later, the co-worker added.
On December 21, Gulf News had reported a similar incident wherein a mother who had flown in from Chad to care for her 25-year-old daughter at Al Qasimi Hospital suffered a heart attack and died.
The co-worker said Zulfikar’s body has been repatriated to India. He leaves behind three young children, the co-worker added.
Abid, 46, continues to be treated at the hospital, which has received a request from his family to send him back to India so they can care for him, Al Naki said.
She added that the deceased used to stay at the hospital to look after his brother. The heart attack had left Abid in a coma. The hospital had allowed Zulfikar, who was in his early 40s, to be at his brother’s side, she added.
“Hospital staff were extremely shocked to hear the patient’s brother had died. The hospital management was in coordination with the deceased’s relatives and completed all legal procedures of repatriation of the body of the deceased to his hometown,” Al Naki said.
She added that around Dh22,900 is needed to send Abid home, considering the medical care required on the journey.
The co-worker said that Abid, who works for a decor company in Sharjah, “can’t speak right now, he’s barely responsive. I don’t know if he is aware that his brother, who cared for him all this while, is no more.
“I come to be by Abid’s side every other day. His brother-in-law also visits. Our company is doing what it can to help send him home. But since he doesn’t have health insurance cover, and because his heart attack was not a work-related matter, there is only so much we can do.”
The brothers are from Gonda district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
