Hyderabad: A 27-year-old man from Telangana and his Sudanese colleague died due to acute dehydration and exhaustion in Saudi Arabia’s Rub’ al Khali desert , after their GPS signal failed. According to family members of Mohammad Shehzad Khan, the incident took place between Aug 19 and Aug 21 when the duo — both telecommunications professionals — had gone to the ‘Empty Quarter’ desert to fix a cellular tower. The two had been working in the country for the last three years.
Khan had moved there from Karimnagar after his uncle helped him get a job at a cellular company. Their ordeal began when their GPS signal failed while they were making their way through the Rub’ al Khali desert — the largest area of continuous sand in the world spanning over 6,50,000 square km. It is known for its harsh conditions, with daytime temperatures soaring as high as 55° Celsius.
Matters took a turn for the worse when the duo’s mobile phone batteries also died, leaving them with no option to call for help. Eventually, when their vehicle ran out of fuel, Khan and his colleague were left stranded without food or water leading to dehydration and exhaustion. “The bodies of the two men were discovered on a prayer rug,” said Bheema Reddy, president of the Immigrants Welfare Forum.
Expressing sorrow over the incident he added: “Their company should have had better supervised in place and sent out a rescue team once they realised that the two were not in touch for a long time.” Wh.