New Delhi, June 3 (IANS): Union Minister and senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde asked for water and to be rushed to the hospital before he fell unconscious and passed away early Tuesday morning here, sources said.
"Munde was going to Indira Gandhi International Airport in his white Maruti Suzuki SX4 'DL 8C BF 0034' car when he was hit by a Tata Indica at Aurobindo Chowk around 6.20 a.m.," a police official said.
Munde was coming from Prithviraj Road and going towards Safdarjung Road when the Indica going towards Tughlak Road from Aurobindo Marg hit his car.
According to sources, Munde, who was sitting on the rear seat of his car, fell inside the car due to the sudden jerk caused by the collision, and was helped by a security guard to sit up.
"Following the accident, Munde asked for two sips of water, and advised his driver to take him to the hospital," a source said.
However, by the time the Bharatiya Janata Party leader reached the emergency department of the Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Center of the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at 6.30 a.m., his pulse rate had started falling and there was no cardiac activity.
"On his arrival at the Apex Trauma Centre, there was no spontaneous breathing, no blood pressure, no pulse.. There was no cardiac activity. So immediately cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was started and was continued for the next 50 minutes," AIIMS public relations officer Amit Gupta told the media.
"Despite all aggressive resuscitative measures, he could not be revived and has been declared dead at 7.20 a.m.," Gupta added.