Journalist Dinesh Sitaula, who suddenly collapsed while accompanying senior Rastriya Swatantra Party leader Balendra Shah, widely known as Balen, during an election tour in Achham, has passed away.

Grande International Hospital issued a statement saying he died at 12:45pm on Sunday.

He was placed on mechanical ventilation and admitted to the intensive care unit under the care of critical care and neurosurgery teams. Despite continuous treatment, the hospital said there was no neurological improvement even after 48 hours, adding that he later developed diabetes insipidus, which was managed as per protocol.

On Friday morning, Sitaula suddenly lost consciousness at Bangapatta in ward 4 of Mangalsen Municipality. He was initially taken to the district hospital, but as treatment was not possible there, he was airlifted by a Nepali Army helicopter to Kathmandu.

Sitaula, a resident of Tokha, Kathmandu, had joined Balen’s team for the campaign in Achham. According to Achham District Hospital chief Dr Kamalesh Yadav, Sitaula was in a critical condition upon arrival. “He was unconscious, had no blood pressure, his body was cold, and he was not breathing. A CT scan suggested a possible head injury with internal bleeding. Treatment was not possible at the district hospital, so he was referred to Kathmandu,” Dr Yadav said.

According to a doctor at the Grande International Hospital, who was involved in his treatment, Sitaula was confirmed to have a brain haemorrhage. “We came to know that he had received CPR for about 45 minutes initially. It was found that a blood vessel in the brain had ruptured and caused bleeding,” the doctor said.

Achham Chief District Officer Yagyaraj Budha said that upon learning about the incident, Sitaula was flown to Kathmandu via Surkhet at around 9:30am on Friday.

Shah met Sitaula at the hospital on Saturday morning. According to Bhupdev Shah, while leaving his house after tea, Sitaula fell while trying to get out of a vehicle and hit his head. He was unconscious and immediately taken to the hospital. Sitaula was part of Balen’s team as a member, not only as a journalist.

Former president of the Film Journalists Association, Sitaula was the editor-in-chief of the online portal The Cinema Times. He had also hosted film-related programmes on Nepal Television and worked as a press coordinator for more than a dozen films.