A bride dropped dead at her own wedding leaving her sister to marry the groom so that the ceremony will go on, it has been reported.
The bride, who has been named locally as Surbhi, died from a heart attack at the ceremony in Etawah city, Uttar Pradesh.
During the Hindu wedding, she was set to marry groom Manjesh Kumar but the dead fiancée’s sister instead took the ring at the last minute after the family tragedy struck.
According to the Indo-Asian News Service, a doctor rushed to the festivities in Samspura village but she was later declared dead.
She was said to have died after exchanging garlands as part of Hindu wedding rituals before she collapsed on stage.
Surabhi died of a ‘massive cardiac arrest’ that happened right in the middle of the wedding ceremony.
The woman’s brother Saurabh was reported to have said: “We did not know what to do in the situation.
“Both the families sat together and someone suggested that my younger sister Nisha should be married to the groom.
“The families discussed the matter and both agreed.”
Surbhi’s body was reportedly kept in a separate room while the festivities took place and she was later cremated.
Speaking to Mail Online one of Surbhi’s uncles, Ajab Singh, said it was a ‘tough call’ for the family to carry on with the wedding.
He said: “One daughter lay dead in one room and the wedding of another daughter was being solemnised in the other room.
“We have never witnessed such mixed emotions. The grief over her death and the happiness of the wedding is yet to sink in.”