Steven Gately Choked To Death In Spain

UPDATE ON: Stephen Gately’s Death

Stephen Gately died by choking on his own vomit it has been reported. He was later found by his partner, who desperately tried to revive him for 30 minutes. His body is being flown back to Dublin later this week.

Andy Cowles, 31, performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on his partner after finding the boyzone star with his face buried in a pillow, kneeing against the sofa in the couples £1 million holiday home in Majorica.

He had left Stephen watching TV in the living room the night before after returning from a night of heavy drinking.

The Metro report: “The pair had been clubbing at a gay nightclub in Palma before heading back to their apartment near Port d’Anratx at about 4.30am on Saturday.”

A source told The Sun: “Stephen had a bit too much to drink, vomited in his sleep and choked. It was a terrible accident.”

A friend of the couple added: “Andy said he’d screamed ‘Wake up! Wake up!’ at him. He also tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. When everything failed he even slapped him across the face.

“But doctors later confirmed Stephen’s lungs had filled with fluid. There was nothing Andy could have done. He had drowned and asphyxiated. There were no signs of violence or evidence of suicide or any obvious evidence pointing to another probable cause of death, liked drugs use.”

Fellow boyzone members Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch flew to the island by private jet last night after hearing the news.

They released a statement saying they were distraught by the “death of a brother”.

ReallyRich.com’s View

This news is so upsetting. I remember finding Stephen such an inspiration when he came out, at a time when not many boy-band members did. His death forces us to focus on the dangers of drinking to excess. In can be fun in moderation but too many people don’t realize that an innocent mistake can be fatal with alcohol. If you have been affected by alcohol abuse or have strong feelings about this sad story, please let us know.