Former British foreign secretary Robin Cook, who quit Prime Minister Tony Blair's government over the Iraq war, has died after collapsing while hiking with his wife on a mountain in his native Scotland. His death was announced by police after Cook, 59, was airlifted by helicopter from Ben Stack in the Highlands following his collapse on the rugged peak during his summer holiday.
Police said Cook, a keen walker, was nearing the top of Ben Stack, a conical mountain that stands 721 metres high, with his second wife Gaynor when he became ill at 2.23pm. An air-sea rescue helicopter was dispatched to take him to hospital in Inverness, where he was declared dead at 4.05pm, five minutes after his arrival in the emergency ward, a spokesman for Raigmore hospital said. Britain's domestic Press Association said it seemed he had suffered a heart attack. |