At least 10 people, including a boy of 13, have died from heart attacks after taking part in the traditional garba dances in India’s western state of Gujarat.
Garba is a high-energy traditional Gujarati dance performed during the nine-day Hindu festival of Navaratri to celebrate the goddess Durga.
Every year, large garba events held in parks and community halls across Gujarat, as well as other parts of the country, draw large crowds of people dressed in traditional costumes who dance in groups for hours through the evening and night.
The deaths, which occurred in the space of 24 hours, have once again raised questions about the general health of Indians and their susceptibility to cardiac problems.
The youngest fatality, 13-year-old Vaibhav Soni, reportedly fell off his cycle while returning from a garba event in Vadodara district on Saturday and was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
He was discharged after some tests, but complained of chest pain after being taken home.
His family said they sent him to bed after giving him medicine but became alarmed when he did not wake up after several hours. He was taken to hospital where doctors declared him dead from a heart attack.
Another teenage fatality was Veer Shah, 17, who reported feeling unwell and suffered a nose bleed while dancing the garba in Kheda district on Saturday night.
He was rushed to a hospital where he suffered a fatal heart attack.
Similar deaths were reported in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, Navsari and Rajkot districts.
Authorities said ambulance services received more than 500 calls related to heart problems over 24 hours in which the deaths were reported, and about 600 calls about people experiencing breathlessness during the first six days of the festival which began on October 15 this year.
The state government on Sunday asked garba organisers to ensure that ambulances were available and ordered community health centres near garba venues to be on high alert.
