A 53-year-old senior professor of IIT Kanpur has died due to cardiac arrest while delivering a lecture during an alumni meet, institute authorities said on Saturday.

Sameer Khandekar, who was the dean of student affairs and the head of the mechanical engineering department, collapsed on the dais while addressing the gathering on Friday, they said.

He was taken to the hospital where he was declared dead upon arrival, the authorities added.

A professor said that Mr Khandekar was diagnosed with high cholesterol levels about five years ago.

Talking to PTI over the phone from Delhi, former IIT Kanpur Director Abhay Karandikar expressed shock over the sudden demise of Sameer Khandekar whom he described as an outstanding teacher and researcher.

Mr Khandekar was delivering a lecture when he felt severe chest pain and started sweating profusely. Before anyone could make sense of what was happening, he collapsed on the stage, Mr Karandikar added.

He said the body has been kept at the IIT Kanpur’s health centre and final rites would be performed only after the arrival of his only son Pravah Khandekar who is studying at Cambridge University.

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Several Indians, including unaccompanied minors, remain stuck at an airport in France after local authorities yesterday grounded their plane over suspected “human trafficking”. The Nicaragua-bound charter plane from Dubai was carrying 303 people, most of them Indians. It was grounded on Saturday during a technical halt at Vatry airport near Paris.

A French judge, who has the authority to extend the detention of the passengers by eight days, is due to hear the case today.

The French border cops can hold a foreign national for up to four days if they land in the country and are not allowed to travel further. This can be extended for eight days a few times – and up to 26 days in total – in exceptional cases by a judge.

The Indian embassy in France has obtained consular access and are assessing the situation. It said it is working with the French government for the welfare of the Indians stuck at the airport.

Request For Asylum

At least 10 Indian passengers have applied for asylum, reported news agency AFP, adding six minors have also expressed an interest in applying for asylum.

At least 11 unaccompanied minors are on board the plane, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.

The stranded passengers have been provided makeshift beds and access to toilets and showers. They have been given meals and hot drinks at the Vatry airport, an official said.

Vatry in eastern France is about 150 km from Paris and the airport serves mostly budget airlines. The grounded Airbus A340 belongs to a Romanian charter company named Legend Airlines.

The Paris prosecutor said the action came after an anonymous tip-off that some of the passengers on board the plane were “victims of human trafficking”. Two men have been detained and questioned by a specialised unit.

French law provides for a 20-year jail term for human trafficking cases.

A lawyer claiming that she represents the Legend Airlines said the company believed it had done nothing wrong, had committed no offence “and is at the disposal of the French authorities”.

She said the airline will take legal action if charges are filed.

A crude oil tanker bound for India was hit by an attack drone fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, the US military said today. M/V Saibaba, a Gabon-flagged tanker with Indians on board, reported no injuries but sent out a distress call to a US ship in the area, the US Central Command said on X, formerly Twitter.

The attack occurred around 10:30 pm (IST) yesterday, hours after another tanker came under attack off the Indian coast, which the US blamed on Iran.

Two ships had informed an US naval ship patrolling in the Southern Red Sea that they were under attack. One of them, a Norwegian-flagged and owned chemical tanker named M/V Blaamanen reported a near miss of a Houthi drone, the US military said.

A second vessel, the M/V SAIBABA, reported that it was hit by a one-way attack drone with no injuries reported, the US military said, adding that the USS Laboon responded to the distress calls from these attacks.

The US destroyer had shot down four drones originating from Yemen’s Houthi-controlled areas prior to the latest incidents.

The Houthi rebels are backed by Iran, which has been accused in yesterday’s attack on MV Chem Pluto off the Indian coast. They have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea, claiming that they are targeting Israeli-linked vessels in solidarity with Gaza.

Saturday’s incidents were the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by the Houthi rebels since October 17, the US military said.

The Japanese-owned MV Chem Pluto, which came under attack yesterday, was targeted by a drone “fired from Iran”, the Pentagon has said. But Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri said the Houthi act on their “own decisions and capabilities.”

There has been a rise in shipping attacks in the Red Sea since the Israel-Hamas war began in October. Major shipping firms have rerouted their cargo vessels around the southern tip of Africa, despite higher fuel costs for longer voyages.