The individual, named Ian Willian Langford, had been residing at the hotel since March 24 to cover the IPL matches. On March 29, the Mumbai Indians faced off against the Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium. After the game, Ian returned to his hotel room (No. 2715) late that evening.
The following day, the receptionist attempted to reach his room, but Ian did not respond. After some time without any answer, the hotel staff decided to check on him.
When there was still no answer from inside the room, the staff utilized a master key to enter. Once inside, they found Ian lying on the floor. The hotel promptly called its in-house doctor, who pronounced him dead on the scene.
The Marine Drive Police Station officially logged his death as an Accidental Death Report (ADR).
The police did not uncover anything suspicious in his postmortem examination. They stated there was no indication of foul play, but given the sudden nature of his passing, the case is still regarded as a potential unnatural death.
An investigation is currently in progress.
Ian’s passing echoes the case of Dean Jones, a renowned cricket commentator who died in September 2020 during the IPL. Jones suffered a heart attack while in India covering the IPL.
At that time, all IPL staff, including players, were isolated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moreover, in 2007, Pakistan cricket team chief Bob Woolmer was also found deceased in a hotel room during the ODI World Cup tournament in Kingston, Jamaica.
