India's 94-year-old legendary playback singer Manna Dey passed away after a prolonged illness in the wee hours of Thursday at a private hospital on this city's outskirts.

"Dey breathed his last around 4 a.m. after his condition suddenly deteriorated in the wee hours though he was on a ventilator," K.S.Vasuki, spokesman of Narayana Hrudayalaya, told IANS.

Dey, who was ailing for over four months, leaves behind two daughters Rama and Sumita.

"Dey's eldest daughter (Rama) was at his bedside after we alerted her father's deteriorating condition," Vasuki said.

Sumita lives in the US, according to Dey's family.

Dey was admitted to the private hospital in July after he suffered lung infection and was undergoing treatment for respiratory disease.