Kasey-Lei Greene: UK family’s heartbreak after 13-year-old girl dies suddenly at movie theatre in Abu Dhabi

A British family is reeling after their 13-year-old daughter collapsed and died while watching a movie in Abu Dhabi, just an hour after hugging her father goodbye.

Kasey-Lei Greene was at a cinema in the United Arab Emirates on September 4 when she suddenly went into cardiac arrest.

Emergency crews worked on her for two hours, but she could not be revived.

The teenager had only moved from the UK to Abu Dhabi earlier this year with her family.

Her father told People the evening began like any other, his daughter was excited for a sleepover with a friend and had convinced him to order them a taxi to the shopping centre.

“She gave me a hug goodbye around 5.30pm,” he recalled.

“Not even an hour later, her friend called me from Kasey’s phone and said, ‘Kasey’s passed out’.”

He raced to the cinema, which was just minutes from their home.

“I literally ran to the car,” he said.

“They had a defibrillator and an ambulance crew there within 10 minutes. I was screaming, holding her hand. I let them do what they could, but I could see she had gone.”

Paramedics tried desperately to revive Kasey-Lei before rushing her to the hospital, where doctors confirmed she had suffered cardiac arrest. Her father said she “had had a few issues before” but nothing to suggest such a sudden tragedy.

He also shared a precious final photo taken just before her passing. A memento that now holds unimaginable weight.

“She just grabbed me and said to her friend, ‘Quick, take a picture of me and my dad,’” he said.

“She held me so tight, like she knew that was the last time I’d ever feel or hear her voice again.

“Normally, she’d plan it and add filters and redo it if it wasn’t right, but not this time. That hug blows my mind.”

Kasey-Lei’s mother, father, and brother returned to Birmingham, UK, for her funeral on October 3. More than 600 mourners attended, with friends and classmates in Abu Dhabi watching online.

“She made friends very easily, from all walks of life,” her father said.

“Our house was like a meeting place. She drew people to her.”

Her mother, who was already in the UK arranging her own mother’s funeral at the time of her daughter’s death, said Kasey-Lei “just found people” wherever she went.

Following her passing, Kasey-Lei’s friends and family have launched a GoFundMe campaign to build clean water wells in Kenya, Tanzania, and Cameroon, a tribute inspired by her friend TJ’s Muslim faith.

“When somebody dies, they do something good in the world,” her father said.

“That’s what this is about, carrying her light forward.”