On Saturday, the Superintendent of Bo Phut Police Station on Ko Samui, Police Colonel Yuttana Sirisombat, confirmed that routine enquiries into the death of the sporting celebrity revealed that there were no suspicious circumstances linked to the incident and revealed that the star had complained of chest pains at home in Australia before his departure for Thailand where he arrived last Thursday to stay with several friends.
One of Australia’s best-loved sports heroes, 52-year-old cricketer Shane Warne died from natural causes at a luxury hotel resort on Ko Samui last Friday on the first full day of his holiday on the island and minutes after making an appointment for a massage in his room. This was confirmed by the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok on Monday following an autopsy which was carried out at Surat Thani Hospital where the sportsman’s body was transferred to on Sunday. It is understood that Mr Warne’s remains have now been handed over to Australian consular officials in Thailand for repatriation home where he will be accorded a state funeral.
Thai police, on Monday, released the results of an autopsy carried out on one of Australia’s top sports personalities who died on Ko Samui last Friday from what is believed to have been a massive heart attack.
In reaction to the sudden death of 52-year-old cricketer Shane Warne, the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, last weekend, described him as ‘one of our nation’s greatest characters’ while the premier of Victoria State, Daniel Andrews, on Saturday, described Mr Warne as the man who inspired a cricket generation down under since playing his first test match against India in 1992.
Family in Australia accept the results of the autopsy which found that Mr Warne died of natural causes
The family of Mr Warne were offered and have reportedly accepted a state funeral for the sports star which will take place after his body arrives home to Australia from Thailand.
‘Shane Warne didn’t just inspire a cricket generation, he defined it,’ Mr Andrews said. ‘To us, he was the greatest, but to his family, he was so much more. Our hearts are breaking for Shane’s family and friends, and they are in the thoughts of all Victorians. I have offered a state funeral to his family so Victorians can pay tribute to his legacy and contribution to our state, community and country.’
Australian ambassador to Thailand oversaw the transit of the sportsman’s body to the mainland
On Sunday, the Australian Ambassador to Thailand, Allan McKinnon was on hand as the body of Mr Warne was transferred by ferry from the Thai International Hospital on Ko Samui to Surat Thani Hospital on the mainland where the autopsy was carried out.
Mr McKinnon, along with the Australian Consul General in Phuket, Matthew Barclay, were given a briefing by Police Colonel Yuttana Sirisombat on Saturday on the island.
Initial medical indications were that Mr Warne was suffering from asthma and heart disease while there are reports that he had complained, before leaving Australia for Thailand, of chest pains.
This weekend, his manager James Erskine said that his client was a smoker and a follower of fad diets.
‘He did go on these ridiculous sorts of diets and he just finished one, where he basically only ate fluids for 14 days and he’d done this three or four times,’ Mr Erskine told the Australian Breakfast Television show Weekend Today. ‘It was a bit all or nothing. It was either white buns with butter and lasagne stuffed in the middle or he would be having black and green juices. I don’t know, he obviously smoked most of his life. I don’t know, I think it was just a massive heart attack. That’s what I think happened.’
Police chief on Ko Samui says the cricketer’s death was unrelated to the afternoon massage ordered
Police Colonel Yuttana, the Superintendent at Bo Phut Police Station on the holiday island where Mr Warne arrived on Thursday, gave details on the police enquiries into the death saying that there were no suspicious circumstances.
Colonel Yuttana stressed that the death of the sports star, an ex-relationship partner and fiancé of English actress Liz Hurley from 2010 until 2013, was not linked to the afternoon massage he received on Friday just hours before he was found unresponsive in his hotel room.
‘He called the girl to get a massage. It was just a massage,’ he confirmed. ‘He didn’t die because of the massage. He wasn’t well. He had asthma and had seen a doctor about his heart. We learned from his family that he had experienced chest pains when he was back home.’
Emotional reaction from English actress Liz Hurley who had a relationship with Mr Warne for three years
Liz Hurley gave an emotional reaction to the death of Mr Warne who she called her ‘lionheart’ in an emotional statement. ‘I feel like the sun has gone behind a cloud forever,’ she declared.
Her 19-year-old son Damian recalled his memories of the sportsman: ‘I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. Shane Warne was a father figure to me for most of my formative years and was truly one of the best men I’ve ever known.’
One of the greatest bowlers in cricketing history
Mr Warne, a right-arm leg spinner, is thought of as one of the greatest bowlers in cricketing history but has been recalled, in recent days, more of as an inspiring man and friend to many.
On Saturday, Colonel Yuttana revealed that police, as a matter of routine, had interviewed two staff and 4 masseuses at the Samujana Villas, a luxury hotel and holiday resort where the sports star had been staying with several friends.
He also said that there were no signs of a struggle in Mr Warne’s room nor were there any narcotic substances.
It is understood that Mr Warne received the all-clear for COVID-19 under the kingdom’s entry rules on Friday after his arrival the day before and left the hotel to visit a nearby suit store where he arrived at 1 pm.
Friends in a state of panic and crying as a paramedic on the scene tried to revive Mr Warne in his room
He then made an appointment with a masseuse at his room in the exclusive resort in the Bo Phut district of the island at 3 pm.
It was only when his friends came to look for him at 5 pm to invite him to dinner that they discovered the Australian laying unresponsive within his room.
A Thai paramedic, Anuch Han-iam, was a first responder to the emergency when called at 5 pm.
‘Shane’s friends were already trying to bring him back to life,’ Ms Anuch told The Sun newspaper in the United Kingdom. ‘I took over doing CPR while we waited for an ambulance. They were desperate. I think one was crying. They were really stressed and panicked. They kept trying to wake him and I heard someone saying, ‘Come on, Shane. Come on, Shane’.
Police in Bangkok confirm autopsy result
On Monday, Police Colonel Kissana Phathanacharoen, deputy police spokesman for the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok, confirmed that the autopsy into the death of Mr Warne had concluded that he died from natural causes.
The policeman said his family in Australia had accepted the findings and that the body of the sporting hero was in the process of being transferred to Australian consular officials so that it can be repatriated to Australia.
‘Today investigators received the autopsy result, in which the medical opinion is that the cause of death is natural,’ Colonel Kissana said. ‘Investigators will summarise the autopsy result for prosecutors within the timeframe of the law.’
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