A Divali street parade in Sangre Grande ended abruptly on Friday after one of the participants became ill and was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The death of Mitra Ramdial, a former cocoa inspector, of Corporative Street, Sangre Grande, has thrown an entire community into mourning.
His widow, Sharon, said he had been in good spirit when she last saw him before she left for work earlier in the day. She said he had been excitedly preparing to celebrate Divali all week.
Vasant Bharath, who is vying to become the political leader of the UNC and opposition activist Bandra Maraj, who were taking part in the parade, rushed to the Sangre Grande Hospital when they heard that Ramdial had collapsed but by the time they got to the hospital he was already dead. They expressed shock and sadness since they said they had spoken to him just a few minutes before he collapsed
Ramdial was a well known political activist in the Toco/Sangre constituency. At the time of his death, he was serving as Bharath’s regional coordinator in the constituencies of Cumuto/Manzanilla and Toco/Sangre Grande for the upcoming UNC internal elections.
A post mortem is expected to be done the Forensic Science Centre tomorrow to determine the cause of death.