Horror as Greater Manchester man, 30, dies at airport in Malaysia

The devastated parents of a man from Rochdale who died at an aiport in Malaysia say they are desperately seeking answers about the tragedy.

Callum Luxton, 30, from Wardle, was a regular traveller and had visited countries all over the world. He was travelling to Phuket in Thailand and is said to have transited at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

However, he died following an incident in the airport last Saturday (November 23). A local police chief has been quoted in numerous media outlets as saying that Callum had been detained and then "lost consciousness during the documentation process of this arrest."

It is understood that former Wardle High School pupil Callum was a prominent motorcross rider as a youth. His heartbroken dad Roy has told the Manchester Evening News said the situation was an "absolute nightmare" and they were "getting no answers."

"We do not know what is going on - we do not know what has happened," he said. "His phone has gone missing and we do not know who he is insured with.

"It is just an absolute nightmare and we are getting no answers. We do not know anything and now we have got to get him back home. Nobody is telling us anything. We do not know how he has gone. You would say you were safe in an airport, obviously not."

Roy said they were informed by police on Monday night when a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) knocked at their door. He said the family believe Callum's bag had gone missing at the airport, which started the incident with police. "We just want to know how he has died," Roy said. "It is ridiculous."

The New Straits Times reported Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan as saying: "Around 1.30pm, police arrested the suspect, who was travelling from the United Kingdom to Phuket, Thailand, with a transit stop at KLIA Terminal 1. He had behaved aggressively and disrupted the peace there.

"When police attempted to detain him, the suspect resisted, injuring two policemen and an auxiliary officer, and damaging police equipment. During the documentation process, the suspect lost consciousness, prompting officers to call the KLIA medical team. A doctor administered first aid, but the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene."

The cause of death was "undetermined pending laboratory analysis", the publication said. The death is being investigated by the Integrity and Standards Compliance Department's (JIPS) Criminal Investigation and Death in Custody Investigation Unit and has also been referred to the country's Independent Police Conduct Commission, Mr Khan is reported as saying.

"They have got an investigation going on there at the moment, but apparently it was on television over there before we even knew. This is killing us," Roy said.

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: "We are aware of the death of a British national in Malaysia and are liaising with the local authorities and with his family in the UK.”