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25-year-old Indian expat drowned in Umm Al Quwain during Eid Al Fitr weekend

Young Indian expat drowned on June 5 while enjoying a swim with friends, in Umm Al Quwain

Dubai: An expat hailing from the south Indian state of Kerala died of drowning during the Eid Al Fitr break here in the UAE. The body of 25-year-old Anandhu Janardanan, who drowned in the Umm Al Quwain beach on June 5, is lying in the mortuary, waiting to be repatriated.

Janardanan was a blue-collar worker in the UAE. According to Ashraf Sherry Thamarassery, a social worker in Ajman who helps repatriate bodies, the paper work is in the final stages and his mortal remains are ‘most likely’ to be sent home on Monday.

Janardanan leaves behind his elderly father, who is home-bound and unemployed. He also leaves behind two siblings; an elder sister, who is married, and a younger unmarried sister. Janardanan, who hailed from the Kollam district in Kerala, was the sole bread-winner of the family.

George Aloysius, a fellow Kerala expat - also from Kollam - said arrangements were being made to repatriate Janardanan’s body home. Aloysius said Janardanan, who had just turned 25 on May 25, was enjoying a swim with friends on the fateful day in Umm Al Quwain when a massive wave took him.

The death notification report lists respiratory arrest as the leading and direct cause of death.

“He was swimming within safe limits. Suddenly his friends found him struggling to breathe. The police and ambulance was called in immediately. Unfortunately, Janardanan died on the way to the hospital. It was a very sad news for us. He was young and had come to earn some money just over two years [ago]. Recently he had moved to a new company and was very happy with his job. He was earning a monthly salary of Dh2,000. It is unfortunate that the holidays, a time he was enjoying with friends, took his life away”, Aloysius said. 

Meanwhile, Thamarassery told Gulf News, Janardanan’s body is likely to fly home on Monday, June 17.

“We have to cancel his residence visa and his labour card. We have made a booking on Air Arabia for his mortal remains to be carried home to Kollam. His family is distraught as he was the sole earning member for the family. It is very sad because he was so young,” he said.