Reports: Micheal Jackson dies
Pop star Michael Jackson has died, according to reports tonight.
The singer suffered a cardiac arrest at his home and arrived at hospital in a coma, the Los Angeles Times reported.
A cardiologist at UCLA told TMZ.com that Jackson died of cardiac arrest.
Brian Oxman, a Jackson family lawyer, told CNN he was told by brother Randy Jackson that star collapsed at his home in west Los Angeles this morning.
Captain Steve Ruda, of Los Angeles Fire Department, said in reports paramedics responded to a call at Jackson’s home around 12.26pm (8.26pm Irish time).
He was not breathing when they arrived. The paramedics performed CPR but he was reportedly totally unresponsive.
Fans are now arriving outside the hospital.
Close friend Uri Geller told Sky News he was hoping desperately that the reports were not true: “I must hear it from a doctor. I cannot believe everything I see and read and hear at the moment. I hope its not true, I'm waiting like you are, like the whole planet is waiting to hear it from the mouth of the doctor taking care of him.
“I’m absolutely devastated and shocked. He was a young man terribly fit and basically in good shape. If it is true I am just in total shock.”
Joe Jackson, the star’s father, previously told showbiz website TMZ.com: “He is not doing well.”
The site reported that the emergency 911 call came in at 12.21pm (8.21pm Irish time) at his Holmby Hills home in Los Angeles.
A spokesman for UCLA said that due to patient confidentiality the medical centre could not comment on or confirm the reports.
Jackson suffered a cardiac arrest, according TMZ.
Once at the hospital, staff tried to resuscitate him but he was completely unresponsive, the website added.
It said his sister LaToya Jackson ran into the hospital sobbing.
The singer was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation and was not breathing when paramedics arrived at his home, according to the Los Angeles Times. He was taken to the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Centre, the newspaper added.
Jackson was due to perform 50 farewell concerts, bowing out on an illustrious music career spanning several decades which earned him a fortune.
A spokeswoman for The Outside Organisation, who are organising the publicity for Jackson’s UK concerts, said she had no comment at this time.
Tonight bookmakers William Hill suspended betting on how many gigs Jackson will do at the O2 in London.
