BBC presenter Komla Dumor dies of heart attack at 41

LONDON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- BBC TV presenter Komla Dumor suffered a sudden heart attack and died at the age of 41 in London, officials said.

Dumor, who was born in 1972 in Accra, Ghana, was a presenter for BBC World News and its "Focus on Africa" program, the BBC reported Saturday. He died in his home in London.

He joined the BBC team in 2007 as a radio broadcaster after spending 10 years in journalism in Ghana.

BBC Global News Director Peter Horrocks said Dumor would be greatly missed.

"Africa's energy and enthusiasm seemed to shine through every story Komla told," Horrocks said in a statement. "Komla's many friends and colleagues across Africa and the world will be as devastated as we are by this shocking news."

Among Dumor's accomplishments were being named in New African magazine's November 2013 list of 100 most influential Africans.

The magazine said Dumor "established himself as one of the emerging African faces of global broadcasting," who had "considerable influence on how the continent is covered."

He also won the Ghana Journalist of the Year award in 2003.