The final moments of cricket legend Shane Warne have been pieced together by Thai authorities, revealing his friends found him unresponsive after he failed to join them for dinner. Warne, 52, was on holiday at the Samujana Villas resort on Koh Samui with three friends when he died on Friday.
Warne's manager James Erskine said the group planned to go for drinks at 5pm, but when they knocked on his door at 5.15pm, they realised something was wrong. Warne had retired to his room earlier to watch the Australia-Pakistan Test match.
Rescue teams arrived within five minutes of being called at 5.30pm. Phet Boonrak, chief of the Wat Plai Leam rescue team, said Warne was unconscious with a weak pulse, and there was vomit on the floor but no signs of injury. CPR was attempted before he was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police Lieutenant-colonel Chatchawin Nakmusik confirmed that Warne's friends told officers he was sleeping in the afternoon, and when they went to call him for dinner, he had already passed out. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.
Australian officials, including Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne and Ambassador Allan McKinnon, are assisting with repatriation. McKinnon thanked Thai authorities for their compassion and efficiency in facilitating Warne's return to Australia.
