By Jiraporn Kuhakan
KOH SAMUI, Thailand (Reuters) -Australian cricket great Shane Warne had experienced chest pains prior to his death in Thailand and had asthma and some heart issues, Thai police said on Saturday, citing information from Warne’s family.
One of the finest bowlers of all time whose talent and personality transcended cricket, Warne died aged 52 on Friday a day after arriving on the island of Koh Samui for a vacation.
“He had asthma and had seen a doctor about his heart,” Yuttana Sirisombat, superintendent at the Bo Phut police station on Koh Samui, told reporters
Asked about any illnesses before his death, he said: “We learned from his family that he had experienced chest pains when he was back home in his country.”
Warne was discovered unconscious in his room in a villa he shared with three associates in the Bo Phut area of the popular holiday island.
Medics and hospital staff were unable to revive him. Police have ruled out foul play but said an autopsy was required to confirm the cause of death.
Australians and the cricket world paid tribute to the man known to compatriots simply as “Warnie” on Saturday, after his country woke to the news of his death from a suspected heart attack.
Police superintendent Yuttana declined to comment when asked about the likely cause of death.
He said the Australian’s body would be transferred to Surat Thani on the Thai mainland on Sunday for autopsy.
Australian embassy officials assisting police declined to comment to media on Koh Samui.
Earlier on Saturday, three men that police confirmed were Warne’s travelling companions were questioned for two hours at the Bo Phut police station. They returned to the station later in the evening and were in discussions for more than two hours, but were not under questioning.
Police had earlier said that his companions were not under suspicion and that the interviews were procedural.
(Reporting by Jiraporn Kuhakan on Koh Samui and Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Juarawee Kittisilpa in Bangkok; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Catherine Evans and Hugh Lawson)
