Mohammad Ashraful Afsar, a Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Local Government, died after suddenly collapsing while playing football with his former cadet college classmates in the capital on Friday night.

The incident took place at a football field in Bashundhara Residential Area. Afsar was rushed to Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, where doctors declared him dead at around 9:15pm.

Afsar, 47, was a member of the 25th batch of the BCS Administration Cadre. He is survived by a son and a daughter.

According to a video of the incident, Afsar suddenly fell face down while playing football. His friends immediately rushed to help him, with some performing chest compressions, while others tried to give him mouth-to-mouth assistance and offered him water. He was later taken to hospital.

Afsar's sudden death has caused grief among his batchmates and friends. Some of his friends said he had been disappointed after not being promoted to the rank of Joint Secretary.

Physician Abdun Noor Tushar wrote on social media following Afsar's death, “I have said many times, in many places, that everyone should be given compulsory CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training. Tamim Iqbal survived because of this. But the government official did not.”

Afsar was buried at Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals’ Grave on Saturday afternoon following his funeral prayer.

Meanwhile, Local Government Minister Abdul Moin Khan expressed deep sorrow at Afsar's death. In a condolence message, he prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved family, relatives and colleagues.

The minister said the Local Government Division had lost a skilled, dedicated and responsible officer in Afsar. His contribution to his government duties would be remembered, he said.