Russian ambassador to Sudan found dead

Aug. 23 (UPI) — The Russian ambassador to Sudan was found dead at his residence in the coutnry’s capital city of Khartoun Wednesday, Russian officials said.

Sudanese police reportedly found Mirgayas Shirinsky’s dead body in his swimmimg pool.

“As soon as we get detailed information from our embassy’s staff in Khartoum, we’ll release a report on the circumstances of death of our colleague,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, according to TAAS.

The cause of death has not yet been announced by Russian officials but Sergei Konyashin, the press secretary of the Russian embassy in Sudan, said Shirinsky, 63, had a heart attack.

“We called an ambulance but the medics didn’t manage to save the ambassador’s life,” Konyashin said.

Shirinsky began his diplomatic career in 1977, according to the website for the Russian embassy to Sudan. A fluent Arabic speaker, he previously served in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Rwanda.

He had been the Russian ambassador to Sudan since 2013.

In February, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly I. Churkin, died in New York City. The cause of death has not been released by New York City officials.

“In order to comply with international protocol, the New York City Law Department has instructed the Office of Chief Medical Examiner to not publicly disclose the cause and manner” of Churkin’s death, the New York City Medical Examiner said in a statement, adding that the U.S. State Department requested that the ambassador’s diplomatic immunity be adhered to even after his death.