Dubai: Dubai Police have launched an investigation into the death of an Indian sailor who died of suspected electrocution aboard a ship.
Himanshu Sanghvi from Mumbai died on Saturday night on board container ship MSC Samantha, which docked at Port Rashid earlier this month.
Dr Priya Belokar, a cousin of his wife Pooja, told Gulf News that the parents of Himanshu, 31, were informed by the company that he died of electrocution.
“Apparently he was trying to fix an electric bulb and he got electrocuted. This is what they informed me,” said Dr Priya, a dentist who lives in Dubai.
She said Sanghvi was a marine engineer, not an electrical engineer.
Lt Col Saeed Al Madhani, deputy director of Port Police Station, told Gulf News that they were alerted about an incident of death in a ship on Saturday and they suspected it was due to electrical shock.
“An Indian sailor passed away and we are investigating the case. We are checking the electric circuit in the ship as we suspect electric shock being the reason of death. We are also waiting for the forensic report before handing over the body to his family,” Lt Col Al Madhani told Gulf News.
Suhaas, another relative of Pooja, tweeted about Himanshu’s death and sought the help of Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Sunday.
The Indian Consulate in Dubai then offered to support the family.
“We’ve spoken to the local police authorities as well as his friends, colleagues and relatives. We’ll extend all assistance. The forensic and investigation formalities are expected to take at least a few days. We’ll continue to follow up,” the mission replied on Monday by tagging the additional private secretary of the minister, Vijay Dwivedi.
When contacted, the mission said it would provide assistance to repatriate the body of Himanshu once the legal formalities by the local authorities are over.
Dr Priya said Himanshu had left home a couple of months ago. “It seems like pure bad luck. He has gone away. But my sister is going to be scarred for life. She is devastated and in shock. They had got married only one-and-a-half-year ago.”
