DHAKA: Former president of India APJ Abdul Kalam died on Monday after collapsing during a lecture in Shillong, PTI reported.

Kalam, 84, collapsed during a speech at the IIM Shillong and was rushed to the nearby Bethany Hospital where doctors put him on oxygen and tried to revive him.

“He was brought into hospital without a pulse or BP. There was no sign of life,” John Sailo Ryntathiang, director of Bethany Hospital, told the Quint.

Kalam served as 11th President India from July 25, 2002 to July 25, 2007, after being elected with the support of both the then ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.

Known as India’s ‘Missile Man’, Kalam worked as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) before he became president.

He was intimately involved in the country’s civilian space program and military missile development efforts.

After his term, he returned to civilian life of education, writing, and public service. He received several prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honor.

Meanwhile, the government of India declared national mourning for seven days.

BDST: 2208 HRS, JULY 27, 2015
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