Pantani 'death accidental' Italian cyclist Marco Pantani
died of accidental cocaine poisoning, according to Italian
news agency Ansa. The agency quoted coroner Giuseppe Fortuni
as concluding: "The death of Marco Pantani was caused by
acute cocaine intoxication."
Fortuni ruled out the possibility that the 34-year-old had
committed suicide.
Pantani, who won the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia in
1998, was found dead in a hotel room in the Italian resort
of Rimini on 14 February.
An autopsy showed that Pantani died of swelling in the brain
and lungs caused by accumulation of fluid.
Prosecutor Paolo Gengarelli ordered more tests to determine
what caused the fluid to build up.
Pantani had been tormented by doping accusations and had
been hospitalised in the summer of 2003 in an Italian clinic
specialising in treatment of depression and drug addiction.
Story from BBC SPORT: news.bbc.co.uknews.bbc.co.ukOpen ↗
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Published: 2004/03/19 16:47:53 GMT
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