By Joseph George

A college student who went camping in the desert has died in Sharjah following a heart attack.



Mohammad Jawad, aged 21, along with nine friends went desert-duning on Thursday night and camped somewhere in the Al Madam area near Sharjah.



“On Friday morning at 8.30am, his friends rushed him to hospital, but he died on his way,” said a relative.



Jawad, a student of Skyline College had returned to the UAE after a visit to India, to celebrate Eid with his friends.



“In fact, he came two days ahead of schedule on September 18 so that he could celebrate Eid with his friends here in the UAE. The family has been here for the past 40 years,” the relative said.



Speaking to Emirates 24|7, a family member who did not wish to be named said the forensic report obtained on Monday morning confirmed that the boy died of heart attack.

“The body is being embalmed and arrangements are being made to take it to India for burial,” the relative said.

His father, Umar Haji, is from Palakkad district in Kerala.

The incident has shocked his friends and relatives as the boy had just entered college and did not suffer from any medical condition.

“He is too young to have a heart attack. We are still not able to believe he had a heart attack at such a young age,” the relative added.

Meanwhile, on the occasion of the World Heart Day today (September 29) doctors have warned UAE residents to take special care and follow a healthy routine to avoid cardiovascular diseases.

UAE is one of the hotspots with very high rate of heart disease, especially among youth, which doctors have blamed on multiple factors, including smoking, lack of exercise and stress.

According to statistics, one in four deaths in the UAE is caused due to a heart attack.

What’s more, an incident of a person suffering from stroke is reported every hour in the UAE.

While the global average of a person suffering a heart attack is 64 years, in the UAE it is 45 years.

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