Man Accused of Leaking Michael Schumacher Medical Files Found Hanged

The man arrested on suspicion of attempting to sell Michael Schumacher's medical files has been found hanged in his cell, prosecutors in Zurich say.

The man has not been named but is known to be a manager at Swiss helicopter air rescue company Rega, which organised Schumacher's transport from a French hospital to a Swiss hospital when he awoke from a coma in June.

He was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of violating patient privacy and medical secrecy and interrogated by police, but denied any wrongdoing. He was being detained in a Zurich jail cell, a statement released by local prosecutors says.

He was found hanged when officers came to bring him breakfast before a scheduled hearing before a judge.

According to an initial investigation, no one else was involved in his hanging, the prosecutor's office said.

Zurich-based helicopter company Rega has denied any involvement in the leaked documents scandal, saying Schumacher's medical records were stolen and then offered for sale to a number of journalists in Europe for €50,000 (£39,000).

The former world champion driver, a long-time resident of Switzerland, was brought by ambulance on 16 June from Grenoble to a clinic in the Swiss city of Lausanne, after emerging from a medically-induced coma that lasted almost seven months.