Dubai, Aug 9 (IANS): An Indian couple who flew to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and managed to track down their missing son were left heartbroken after finding him dead, a media report said.

The body of the son, who died of a heart attack, remained undiscovered for days as he lived alone and had little contact with anyone, The Khaleej Times reported on Tuesday.

The parents, who had not seen their son for over 10 years, begged him to return home while they were in contact, but he refused.

According to social worker Ashraf Thamarassery, the son had faced some problems in his hometown after his engagement broke.

"After that he never returned home,” Thamarassery told The Khaleej Times.

The worried parents decided to come to the UAE to search for him after they lost all contact with their son for several months.

Since they had minimal details, they knocked on many doors in search of his address, the report said.

After several days of searching, the parents tracked down their son’s residence and learnt that he is no more.

From there, the parents went to the morgue where they identified their son's body and completed necessary formalities for repatriation.

“I can never forget the sorrow on the faces of the parents,” Ashraf told The Khaleej Times. “It was one of the most heartbreaking cases I have dealt with."

Over 3,860,000 Indian expats are estimated to be living in the UAE, which is over 38 per cent of the total population of the country.

In June this year, 35-year-old Indian expat Neethu Gansh died of an electric shock while she was taking a shower at home in Dubai.

Earlier this year, a 48-year-old man from Kerala went missing from the UAE and was found dead in a Pakistani prison.

The Pakistan government handed over the body to Indian authorities at the Attari border.