PE teacher dies while taking class in Saudi school

The head of the school said that the PE teacher had been behind many initiatives launched in the school.

A physical education teacher died while taking class as his students saw him collapse to the ground in Kortoba primary school in Al-Namas city, Saudi Arabia.
Fifty-year-old Abdullah bin Ali Mefreh Al Sahri had a heart problem and was suffering from diabetes, according to a report in Al Arabiya.net. After serving for 27 years in the school, he had sought early retirement at the end of the current academic session.
A pall of gloom descended on the school as teachers and students mourned Al Sahri's death. The head of the school, Zafer bin Saad Thiyab, said that Al Shahri had been behind many initiatives launched in the school. He had earned respect and love of his colleagues as well as students through his pleasing demeanour and personality, he added.
Thiyab said Al Shahri met all teachers and had breakfast with them in the morning. Later, he started his class at 9am. Only 5 minutes into the period, a student came running and told me that Al Shahri had collapsed, Thiyab added. An ambulance was called and Al Shahri breathed his last on way to the hospital.
Thiyab said that last year, the teacher had witnessed the same problem and had collapsed on the ground, and the same student had come to tell him about the incident. Al Shahri had suffered hypoglycemic seizure then and advised not to strain himself too much.

• Saudi Arabia