DUBAI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has led tributes to a national service recruit who died after suffering a heart attack.
Sheikh Mohammed said via his official Twitter account on Monday that he had visited the family of Mohammed Khalid Al Risi to pass on his condolences.
Mr Al Raisi, 18, died on his way to hospital shortly after midnight on Saturday after suffering a heart attack at the Armed Forces Residences.
The announcement was made by the General Command of the Armed Forces on Saturday night and representatives expressed their condolences to his family for his death.
Sheikh Mohammed said on Twitter: "Today, I have visited the family of the National Service recruit Mohammed Al Risi and presented my condolences. I felt his parents' pride and their patience over his loss knowing that he has found God's peace.
“The greatest consolation to Mohammed Al Risi’s family is that he died while serving his country, and our greatest consolation is that he left us carrying a soldier’s badge of honour [on his shoulder].”
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region, also offered his condolences during a visit to Mr Al Raisi’s family home.
Sheikh Tahnoun, who met the recruit’s father and brothers, was accompanied by other officials including Maj Gen Pilot Sheikh Ahmad bin Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, chairman of the National and Reserve Service Authority.
Mr Al Raisi was buried on Sunday in Al Yahar graveyard and the funeral will finish at his home on Tuesday.
The Armed Forces have developed health and training programmes for recruits to prepare them to enter the battlefield while ensuring safe body building and strength.
Authorities will also be working on a support system to protect fresh recruits from facing any psychological issues.
The first batch of high school recruits began their training on August 31. The initial training period, including physical and military training, lasts 45 days.
The total period to complete the training is nine months. Thousands of recruits began training in five camps across the country on Saturday – in Mussaffah, two in Al Ain, Liwa and Sharjah.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
