MONTREAL - THE FIRST ambulance sent to a ski resort where actress Natasha Richardson fell and suffered a head injury was turned away, a paramedic told a Canadian newspaper on Thursday.

Richardson was injured Monday while taking a beginners ski course in Quebec and died Wednesday in a New York hospital. A statement from the family did not give details of the precise cause of death.

The New York City medical examiner's office said it was performing an autopsy. The office said results were expected to be available on Thursday.

Yves Coderre, director of operations at the emergency services company that sent the medics to the Mont Tremblant resort, told The Globe and Mail newspaper Wednesday that ski patrollers requested an ambulance after Richardson fell.

The paramedics who responded were told they were not needed, said Coderre, whose company, Ambulances Radisson, serves Mont Tremblant, about 130 kilometers northwest of Montreal.

'They never saw the patient,' Coderre told The Globe and Mail. 'So they turned around.'

Coderre said another ambulance was called later to Richardson's luxury hotel. By that point, her condition had gotten worse and she was rushed to a hospital.

It wasn't immediately clear who sent the first ambulance away or why, but a resort spokeswoman said Tuesday that Richardson initially said that she was fine.

The resort also issued a statement Tuesday that said Richardson didn't appear hurt and was walking around shortly after the incident.

'She did not show any visible sign of injury but the ski patrol followed strict procedures and brought her back to the bottom of the slope and insisted she should see a doctor,' the resort said in its statement. -- AP