Investigation update

This is a follow-up to Awaaz Punjab's earlier report on the sudden death of Bavaria's deputy premier in Berlin. Read the earlier report

German authorities said on Thursday that no external causes were involved in the sudden death of Hubert Aiwanger, the deputy premier of the state of Bavaria and leader of the Free Voters party, who was found dead in a Berlin hotel room on Wednesday evening.

Source: Reuters

The Berlin prosecutors' office said in its statement that forensic examinations would continue, and it did not specify the cause of death. The finding rules out, at this stage, the possibility of third-party involvement that Berlin police and prosecutors said on Wednesday their inquest was opened to establish or exclude.

What happened on Wednesday

Aiwanger, 55, who was also Bavaria's economy minister, had travelled to Berlin for the opening of his party's new office in the capital but missed the occasion after he felt unwell, the Bild newspaper reported, via German news agency dpa. Berlin police and prosecutors said his body was found in his hotel room in the centre of the capital on Wednesday evening, and an investigation into the cause of death was opened.

Source: Associated Press

Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder called the death "a terrible tragedy" in a statement published on the state government website, saying: "We are all deeply shocked." Aiwanger led the Free Voters, a conservative party that has become a mainstay of Bavarian politics in coalition with Soeder's CSU and had sought to expand its influence across Germany.

What happens next: prosecutors say forensic examinations are continuing, and no cause of death has been released. Awaaz Punjab will update this story if the authorities publish the forensic findings or the party announces succession arrangements for the Free Voters leadership and Aiwanger's Bavarian government posts.