Family of late singer George Michael 'extremely upset' at leaked emergency call
Tributes are seen outside the house of singer George Michael, where he died on Christmas Day, in Goring, southern England, Britain December 26, 2016. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh
LONDON The family of George Michael is "extremely upset" that a recording of an emergency call about the singer on the day he died at his southern England home was leaked to the press, lawyers said.
"George's family and friends are extremely upset and truly appalled that such a personal, painful and clearly confidential recording has been leaked," said a statement by the family's lawyers, cited by the BBC.
The statement came two days after The Sun newspaper published a recording of a 999 call allegedly made on Christmas Day by the former Wham! singer's partner Fadi Fawaz.
Over a nearly 4-1/2 minute call, Fawaz, 43, tells an accident and emergency staff member of Michael's condition after an hour of trying to revive him.
"I've been trying to wake him up for the last hour ... it's not possible. He's gone, he's blue, he's cold," Fawaz is heard saying.
A spokeswoman for the South Central Ambulance Service said: "We take matters of confidentiality very seriously and have launched an immediate investigation."
Police investigating the death of the 53-year-old singer said in December the results of a post-mortem examination had been inconclusive and that more tests were needed.
Michael and Prince, both Grammy-winning pop veterans who died unexpectedly last year, were honored by tributes from younger stars such as Adele and Bruno Mars at the Grammy awards on Sunday.
(Reporting by Ritvik Carvalho; editing by Stephen Addison)