Gately death due to natural causes

The body of Boyzone star Stephen Gately can make a final journey home after his death on the island of Majorca, a judge has said.

The repatriation was given the go ahead after a court hearing established that Mr Gately, 33, died of natural causes.

A court official said a post-mortem examination had found that the singer suffered a pulmonary oedema, an accumulation of fluid on the lungs. The underlying cause was not revealed.

There has been speculation that Mr Gately, who died after a night on the town on the island, choked on his own vomit.

The Irish singer was found dead on Saturday on the sofa in his apartment in Port Andratx on the island after a night out partying with his partner Andrew Cowles.

A sample of pulmonary fluid taken during the post-mortem will be sent to a forensic laboratory in Barcelona for further tests to confirm the result, the court official said.

The official added that the investigation into the death will continue as a formality with Mr Cowles and one other person declared as official witnesses. The second witness is thought to be Bulgarian Georgi Dochev, 25, who went back to the apartment with Mr Gately and Mr Cowles after their night out and has described finding the singer's body the next day.

The court official said the pulmonary oedema had been "acute". She added: "If all these steps (witness statements and tests) confirm the natural causes, the case will be closed."

She could not say whether Mr Gately had been taking any drugs or alcohol and declined to say whether he had vomited before his death.

Mr Cowles was ushered out of the private court hearing in the island's capital Palma looking upset.