Melbourne: Australian spin legend Shane Warne will be given a state funeral after the legendary cricketer’s family accepted the offer from Victoria premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday.
Warne, 52, died due to a suspected heart-attack in Koh Samui, Thailand despite the best efforts of his manager to revive him for nearly 20 minutes till an ambulance arrived.
Andrews confirmed that the legend’s family had accepted the state government’s offer. More details will be released in coming days.
“It will be an opportunity for Victorians to pay tribute to his contribution to his sport, to our state and the country,” said Andrews, according to theguardian.com.
The Thai police is not treating the death of the 52-year-old, 145-Test veteran as suspicious, with the superintendent at the Bo Phut police station in Koh Samui, Yuttana Sirisombat, telling the media on Sunday that Warne was suffering chest pains before arriving in Thailand.
Australia’s ambassador to Thailand, Allan McKinnon, has said the police and hospital staff in Koh Samui “were working to get Warne’s body back to Australia quickly”, according to the report.
“They have been very compassionate, very efficient and very understanding,” said McKinnon.
Sirisombat informed that the cricketer’s body will be moved for an autopsy in the main state hospital in Surat Thani province.
The forensic team, which inspected the villa, reportedly found blood stains on the floor and bathroom towels in the room Warne was staying in, according to skynews.com.au.
The Thai police confirmed that there was blood in the villa “which came after a desperate scramble to save Warne’s life”, said the skynews report.
“A large amount of blood was found in the room,” Satit Polpinit, a commander of the local provincial police, told the Thai media. “When CPR was started, the deceased had coughed up liquid and was bleeding,” the report said.
IANS