Shane Warne’s body transferred to hospital for autopsy after heart problems, chest pains revealed
Shane Warne’s body has been moved to a hospital for an autopsy, after more details emerged of his final moments and his private health battle.
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Shane Warne’s body is being transferred to a hospital for an autopsy.
The cricket legend’s remains were moved on a stretcher from a mortuary in Koh Samui and driven by car to Seatran ferry pier to get off the island.
His body, covered in a pink blanket and on an ambulance stretcher, was respectfully taken from the mortuary at the holiday island’s hospital shortly after midday AEDT.
There was a delay in getting some paperwork organised but that was resolved mid-morning local time.
Warne was to be taken to Suratthani Hospital on the Thai mainland, about 125km or three hours away from Koh Samui.
Royal Thai police said on Saturday night that Warne’s family had told them he had complained of chest pains before leaving for the island paradise this week.
There had been suggestions that any autopsy would be done in Australia, but police confirmed they had permission to perform the procedure in Thailand.
The family had not disputed the initial reports that Warne, 52, had died of a heart attack.
The transport was lining up to get on the ferry at 1.20pm Sydney time on Sunday.
It was unclear how quickly the autopsy could be performed and when Warne’s remains would be sent to Australia.
The news ccomes as a state funeral will be held to remember Warne.
Premier Daniel Andrews said he has spoken with Warne’s family and they have accepted an offer for a state funeral to be held to honour the cricket legend.
“I’ve spoken with the Warne family again today and they have accepted my offer of a State Funeral to remember Shane,” Mr Andrews said on Twitter.
“It will be an opportunity for Victorians to pay tribute to his contribution to his sport, to our state and the country.”
The Premier said details about the service will be finalised in the coming days.
WARNE HAD CHEST PAINS BEFORE TRIP TO THAILAND
Police Colonel Yuthana Sirisombat, director of Bo Phut Provincial Police station in Koh Samui, revealed on Saturday night Warne had a history of heart disease and asthma.
Colonel Sirisombat said interviews with family had led police to believe that Warne’s death was not suspicious, according to a translation of a late night press conference in Thailand.
Police confirmed there were no drugs found in his room.
A masseuse had visited Warne on Friday but police were not clear on what time of day.
Allan McKinnon, Australia’s ambassador to Thailand, was at the Bo Phut Police Station where he was working with police to help get Warne’s body released.
“On behalf of Shane Warne’s family and his travelling companions, I’d like to thank (Thai Police) and his team here at the Bo Phut police station and the hospital in Koh Samui for facilitating this process and getting Shane Warne back to Australia as quickly as possible,” he said.
“They have been very compassionate, very efficient and very understanding.”
COPS FIND BLOOD STAINS IN WARNE’S HOTEL ROOM
Police found blood stains on three towels and a pillow in Warne’s hotel room where he died in Koh Samui, Thailand.
There were also two blood stains on the carpet.
As new photographs emerged of his hotel room, police revealed details of his final moments.
Friends said that the blood was the result of desperate attempts to revive him, with the cricketer coughing up blood.
Two water bottles were found in the room, one was empty, while the other was half full.
There were no reports of alcohol bottles in the room, with Warne watching the cricket on television before planning to head out for a drink on Friday evening with friends.
Forensic police, who took photographs of the room at 1.30pm local time on Saturday (5.30pm AEDT) took samples from the water bottles for testing.
Satit Polpinit, commander of Surat Thani Provincial Police, said police were looking for CCTV from around the time that Warne was found on Friday.
Initial reviews of CCTV did not show anything suspicious, with footage confirming his four friends had rushed to the room to help him.
Warne was visiting a poker playing buddy who runs the resort where he was staying when he died.
The cricketer was a close friend of Gareth Edwards, who was spoken to by Thai police on Saturday night, photographs showed.
Edwards, who is listed as chief marketing officer for Samujana Villas where Warne was staying in Koh Samui, had a long association with Warne.
He was photographed with him at a poker tournament in 2013, where they joked about having a “side bet” for a bottle of Penfolds Grange wine.
Australia’s ambassador to Thailand Allan McKinnon met with Thai police on Saturday night as efforts to return Warne’s body stepped up.
Mr McKinnon, and a group of DFAT officials, also met with Mr Edwards and Warne’s manager.
The new development comes after Warne went to Thailand on what was meant to be the start of a three month break. A boys’ trip to the Thai island resort of Koh Samui for some rest and relaxation before cricket great Warne worked on the next phase of his life.
Just six days ago, the 52-year-old publicly declared: “Operation shred has started (10 days in) and the goal by July is to get back to this shape from a few years ago. Let’s go.”
But less than 24 hours after arriving on Koh Samui with three mates – including manager Andrew Neophitou – the greatest leg spinner Australia ever produced was dead. Shane Keith Warne was just 52.
It was Neophitou – an executive producer behind the recently released documentary SHANE – who discovered Warne’s lifeless body and battled for 20 minutes to revive him before ambulance crews arrived.
The pair and two others were staying at the five-star Samujana Villas, an hour’s flight south of the capital Bangkok, which commands between $1000 and $4000 a night.
It offered breathtaking ocean views and private butlers and chefs.
Neophitou had gone to check on Warne – who was known for his punctuality – was 15 minutes late in meeting the group for prearranged drinks.
“I got a phone call at 10:37 last night from our guy Andrew Neophitou in Thailand,” Warne’s long-term manager James Erskine said on Fox Cricket’s Shane Warne tribute special.
“Shane decided that he was going to have three months off.
“In fact he wanted a year off and I said ‘there was no way you can have a year off they will have forgotten you by a year’.
“I said you can have three months off and this was just the start of it.
“He only arrived the night before.”
Erskine said the group of friends had planned to meet at 5pm for drinks.
“They were going to have a drink at 5 and Neo (Neophitou) knocked on his door at 5:15 because Warnie was always on time.
“ … He went in there and said ‘Come on, we’re going to be late. You are going to be late’ and then realised that something was wrong,” an emotional Erskine revealed.
“He turned him over and gave him CPR. That lasted about 20 minutes then obviously the ambulance came. They took him to the hospital which was about a 20 minute drive.“
“I got a phone call about 45 minutes later saying that he was pronounced dead.”
It was up to Erskine to break the tragic news to Warne’s family in Australia – including parents Bridgette and Keith, and ex-wife Simone Callahan and the couple’s three children.
Erskine said he was still to comprehend the magnitude of Warne’s passing.
“You don’t expect Shane Warne to die because he was an extraordinary human being,” he said.
Thai police confirmed Warne’s had been taken to the Thai International Hospital, and that searches had shown no signs of foul play.
“The friend did CPR on him and called an ambulance,” Chatchawin Nakmusik, an officer with the Bo Put police, said.
“An emergency response unit then arrived and did another CPR for 10-20 minutes. Then an ambulance from the Thai International Hospital arrived and took him there. They did CPR for five minutes, and then he died.”
Never one to do anything by halves, Warne would go from periods where he exercised, dieted and rejected alcohol. At other times he would consume double vodkas and red bulls when out for the night, smoke heavily and eat badly.
Friends said they never knew of him to use drugs.
Warne was out of shape in the summer and was working tirelessly through the Ashes and then the Big Bash for Fox Cricket.
Warne’s grieving family were yesterday offered a state funeral as Victorian Government revealed the MCG’s Great Southern Stand will be renamed the S.K. Warne Stand (Shane Keith Warne) in honour of the spin king.
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