New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS): George Joseph, political editor of IANS, died of a cardiac arrest early Monday morning. He was 57.

Joseph was rushed to Fortis Hospital in Noida early Sunday after he suffered a massive heart attack. He had an emergency surgical procedure, after which he seemed to recover somewhat, but his condition worsened at night.

He had been a journalist since 1980. He began his career with the National Herald, then worked with The Times of India before moving to the Indian Express where he had a long stint in Srinagar during the crucial years of the insurgency in the 1990s. There he met fellow journalist Aasha Khosa whom he later married. They have a daughter who is studying in Class 9.

Joseph, who joined IANS in 2010, also worked for Malayalam media, including a stint as chief of bureau in Delhi of Jeevan TV.

His body will be kept at Kerala House Monday afternoon and flown to Kerala for the last rites Tuesday.

Tarun Basu, chief editor of IANS, said in a message: "George was a journalist of rare integrity and equanimous temperament. His last assignment was to cover the UP election campaign where he spent some days in the company of fellow journalists travelling to various parts of the state. In a way, he died in harness, writing his stories and interviews from the political trail he tracked. He will be sorely missed."