Kerala ex-CM Achuthanandan dies at age 101

HE WAS ON VENTILATOR SUPPORT SINCE JUNE 23 AFTER CARDIAC ARREST

- BY LEKSHMY PAVITHRAN

Veteran Communist leader and former Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan passed away yesterday afternoon at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. He was 101.

Achuthanandan had been on ventilator support since June 23, after suffering a cardiac arrest at his son's residence. Despite weeks of intensive medical care and oversight by a special board of experts from the Medical College, the end came peacefully. His son-in-law, a doctor, had administered CPR at home before he was shifted to the hospital.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan rushed to the hospital, joined soon by a stream of political leaders, reflecting Achuthanandan's towering presence across political lines.