Postmortem report reveals Reuters' bureau chief died due to 'shortage of oxygen'

A report has said that Maria Golovnina, the Pakistan and Afghanistan bureau chief of Reuters based in Islamabad who was found dead in her office on February 23, died due to a "shortage of oxygen."

A postmortem report prepared by Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), said that the journalist had marks on her neck when her body was found, reported the Dawn.

PIMS spokesman Waseem Khawaja said that samples of her brain, heart and neck have been sent to a forensic laboratory for a complete report on the cause of her death. He added that the postmortem report had been forwarded to the police for further investigation.

Reports had earlier said that the journalist was found lying on the floor covered in vomit at her office in Islamabad's F-8 sector.

A statement released by the news agency said that she feel unconscious in her office and was rushed to a private hospital but medical teams were unable to save her.

However, Pakistani police quoted her colleagues as saying that they were "alarmed" at her long disappearance from her seat and went looking for her. They found her lying in a washroom of the office.

Golovnina had been working as the bureau chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan for the past year and a half.

She joined Reuters in Tokyo in 2001 and subsequently worked in postings around the world including London, Singapore, Moscow, Afghanistan and Iraq, the report said.