Jakarta. An Indonesian student is suspected to have died from seizure after accompanying public officials, including lawmakers, during a Vienna trip.

The person in question was Muhammad Athaya Helmi Nasution, an 18 year-old studying at Hanze University of Applied Sciences.

Athaya was accompanying a number of public officials when they came to the Austrian capital on Aug. 25-27.

Aside from lawmakers, members of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and Bank Indonesia had also joined the trip. However, all the guests' identities remained unknown as per writing. 

The Netherlands chapter of the Indonesian Students Association (PPI Netherlands) revealed Monday that Athaya had died on Aug. 27.

The young man had been busy with liaison activities all day long. Forensic autopsies revealed that Athaya had died from a seizure, possibly triggered by heatstroke from a combination of dehydration, lack of nutrition, and fatigue. All these factors had caused electrolyte imbalances and his blood sugar to fall below normal levels.

Judha Nugaraha, the Foreign Ministry’s director for citizen protection, had confirmed Athaya’s passing. 

“Our embassy in Vienna has coordinated with local authorities, and autopsies suspected that seizure was the cause of death,” Judha told the state-run news agency Antara.

Commenting on the liaison officers’ mechanism, Judha said that “everything was entirely managed by the Indonesian event organizer.”

An Indonesian Muslim community in Vienna had assisted the repatriation process. The government has also provided consular services, including in regards to the necessary documents. “As requested by the family, his body had been returned to Indonesia on September 4,” Judha said.

PPI Netherlands had slammed the anonymous event organizer for the lack of apology and transparency.

“The involvement of students in facilitating public officials’ visits abroad has the potential to place them in unsafe and high-risk situations,” the association said.

They added: “We strongly reject any form of request or practice of students facilitating official visits of public officials, if conducted without an official contract, legal protection, and clear mechanisms.”

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