An Indian man has drowned on Wednesday in the Dubai Creek, Gulf News has learnt.

Sahad Abdul Salam, from Kollam, Kerala, was fishing in the wee hours of Wednesday in the Jaddaf district when he is said to have slipped into the saltwater creek and "drowned in a water hole".

Dubai Police confirmed the incident had taken place on the Dubai Creeek, in Jaddaf area, and that investigations are on-going.

At the time of the incident, Sahad was with two friends, also from Kerala. Both had been detained.

The two friends reported the incident to Dubai Police and divers were deployed to rescue Salam.

His body was recovered on Wednesday, at 12 pm.

Sahad leaves behind a wife and two children back in Kollam, one of 14 districts of the southern state of Kerala, India.

Speaking to Gulf News, Shameer Salam, a relative of Sahad, said his family is devastated by the news.

“His wife and parents are inconsolable. The children, who are six and three years old, are unable to comprehend the situation. They are asking for their father.”

Sreedharan Prasad, a social worker in the UAE, is helping Shameer repatriate Sahad’s body at the earliest.

“Currently authorities are completing all due formalities with the incident. Once this is completed, the Dubai Police will issue a no objection certificate (NOC) to Preventive Medicine section to issue the death certificate. After obtaining death certificate, then Sahad’s sponsor has to cancel his visa. The Dubai Police then will issue a letter to airport and CID department allowing for the repatriation of the body.”

“Meanwhile, we are getting a notary attested letter from Sahad’s wife authorising a person to complete the repatriation process and accompany his body. We are doing all we can to speed up the process from here.”

SOURCE : GULFNEWS