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Heat stroke takes toll of Indian sailor

Singh hailing from Chandigarh in Punjab was working on MV Nancy, a vessel currently docked in the Sharjah creek. His fellow sailors alleged that the supervisor of the ship forced Singh to work under the sun even after he was complaining that he was sick.

“He arrived in Sharjah on Sunday and started work on the same day in a crane onboard the ship. He was a vegetarian but on the vessel they only served non-vegetarian food. So he did not eat properly since he arrived in the UAE,” one of his colleagues said.

“Singh worked the whole day under the sun and was very tired. When he sat down to rest for a while, the supervisor asked him to go back to work immediately. The supervisor did not allow him to stop work even after the working hours,” he said.

“At about 6.30pm, he fell unconscious on the deck of the vessel. But the company officials did not rush him to the hospital immediately. They said that it was very normal and happened very often with people. Singh would be fine soon,” the company officials said, taking his illness lightly. But, by 8 pm they had to take him to the hospital as his condition had deteriorated," the colleague disclosed.

A source from the Kuwaiti Hospital confirmed Singh’s death saying, “The shipping company officials brought him to the hospital by 8 pm on Monday but his condition was very critical. We admitted him in the intensive care unit immediately. But he died at 4.20 am on Tuesday morning."

“He had suffered a severe heat stroke,” the hospital source confirmed.

The body was later shifted to the Sharjah police morgue.

Speaking from India over the telephone, Harjeet Singh, brother of the deceased expressed shock on his brother's death. “We have not been informed by the company in Sharjah or their agents in India about his death,” he said.

According to the brother, “Singh left home for Dubai through an agent in Mumbai who charged him Dh17, 000. We got a call from the Mission to Seafarers in Dubai informing us that he was hospitalised. But I was not informed about his death."

An official from Kasab Shipping Company, which owns the vessel, however, said that they had informed the agent in Mumbai about the sailor’s death. “We will repatriate the body to his home immediately after the legal formalities are completed,” he said, disclosing that the vessel is insured with P&I (Protection and Indemnity) insurance so the family will receive the insurance claim after the procedures are completed.”

When enquired whether the company charged a recruitment fee from the deceased and other sailors for a job, the official denied. "We don’t charge any money from job seekers. We are unaware that the agent had charged him a huge amount.”

The Mission to Seafarers in the UAE has, meanwhile, appealed to the authorities to send the body back home as early as possible. “We are not sure whether the vessel has P&I insurance. If not, the company should pay the compensation to the family. We will approach the authorities to speed up the repatriation,” an official from Mission to Seafarers said.

• UAE