'His personal physician who was with him at the time attempted to resuscitate my brother. As did the paramedics who transported him to Ronald Reagan UCLA medical center,' Jermaine Jackson (left) read from a prepared statement. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
LOS ANGELES - EMERGENCY hospital workers tried for over an hour to resuscitate Michael Jackson after he collapsed at home from an apparent heart attack, brother and official family spokesman Jermaine Jackson said Thursday.
THE 'King of Pop' is believed to have suffered 'cardiac arrest' but the formal cause of death will not be known until his autopsy, Jackson said at a emotional news conference hours after his brother was confirmed dead at the age of 50.
The 'King of Pop' is believed to have suffered 'cardiac arrest' but the formal cause of death will not be known until his autopsy, Jackson said at a emotional news conference hours after his brother was confirmed dead at the age of 50.
'His personal physician who was with him at the time attempted to resuscitate my brother. As did the paramedics who transported him to Ronald Reagan UCLA medical center,' Mr Jackson read from a prepared statement.
'Upon arriving at the hospital, at approximately 1.14 pm, a team of doctors including emergency physicians and cardiologists attempted to resuscitate him. For periods of more than one hour. They were unsuccessful,' he said.
'Our family requests that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time,' he said. 'May Allah be with you, Michael, always.' Jermaine Jackson is a Muslim.
Los Angeles police Lt Gregg Strenk said at a separate news conference that police robbery-homicide detectives have been ordered to investigate, which is common in a high-profile case. Lt Strenk says the coroner?s office, which will handle inquiries into the type of death, is taking possession of the body.
Jackson, the child star turned King of Pop who set the world dancing to exuberant rhythms for decades, died on Thursday, a Los Angeles County Coroner's office spokesman confirmed Thursday. He was 50.
'Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Los Angeles Times,' the newspaper reported on its website late on Thursday.
Jackson had been taken ill at his home and found not breathing by paramedics who rushed him to a hospital, the paper said. -- AP, AFP
PHOTO: NATIONAL PHOTO GROUP