Mitchell Perera, a Sri Lankan-origin figure widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the United Arab Emirates’ off-roading community, died in Dubai on Wednesday at the age of 59.
His family confirmed the death to Gulf News on Thursday. The Daily Mirror carried the report in Sri Lanka on Friday, crediting Gulf News, where Perera had been a volunteer marshal on the newspaper’s annual Fun Drive for close to four decades.
Three months in hospital
Known to the off-roading community as Mitch, he died after complications that followed open-heart surgery on 14 August.
A relative, Dalrene Devadason, told Gulf News he had been diagnosed with a leaking heart valve after being rushed to hospital when his blood sugar rose to 400. He remained in intensive care in a Dubai hospital after the operation, during which he suffered breathing difficulties, kidney dysfunction and lung complications.
He had been improving and was in rehabilitation when his condition deteriorated in the days before his death, after internal bleeding developed.
“He fought really hard. There were two or three occasions after the surgery when the doctors told us his condition was critical and that he might not survive, but he pulled through each time. He gave all of us so much hope. But unfortunately, the past few days had been tough and he couldn’t make it.”
Forty years of the Fun Drive
Perera first took part in the Gulf News Fun Drive in its inaugural year, 1986, as a navigator alongside his father, Chris Perera, who was a marshal. He followed his father into the role once he had his licence and qualified as a certified desert driver in 1987, then served on the event for decades, progressing from marshal to communications controller and project leader.
Gulf News Managing Editor Ashfaq Ahmed paid tribute:
“Mitch was one of the heroes of the Gulf News Fun Drive. He began as a marshal and went on to serve as communications controller and project leader on multiple occasions. His contribution was integral to the success of every Fun Drive he was involved in.”
He was known among participants for pulling, pushing and guiding vehicles through the course, and for the driving advice he offered less experienced off-roaders.
Repatriation to Sri Lanka
Perera was an only child. He is survived by his wife and son, who live in Germany, and by his parents in Sri Lanka, aged 85 and over 90.
His wife and son were expected to travel to Dubai on Saturday. His remains are then to be repatriated to Sri Lanka, where the funeral is expected to take place next week. The Sri Lankan Consulate in Dubai is assisting with the repatriation.
A note on sourcing
This account originates with Gulf News, which reported the death and obtained the family interviews; the Daily Mirror reproduced it for Sri Lankan readers. Gulf News is not among the newsrooms this desk can independently verify dates against, and its site was unreachable from here at the time of writing, so the Daily Mirror’s filing is cited as the source of record.
The clinical details above — the valve diagnosis, the blood sugar reading and the sequence of complications — are as described by a family member, not by treating doctors. No cause of death beyond “complications” is stated, and no hospital is named.