World coming to terms with Jackson death

Investigations have begun into the circumstances surrounding the death of Michael Jackson.

Paramedics were called to the 50-year-old singer’s Holmby Hills home in Los Angeles and he was taken to the UCLA medical centre.

The king of pop was pronounced dead at 2.26pm Pacific time (10.26pm BST) and a post-mortem examination is expected to take place later today, Los Angeles Coroner’s Office spokesman Fred Corral said.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said the robbery and homicide team was investigating Jackson's death because of its "high profile" but warned reporters not to read anything into this.

LA coroner's officer Fred Corral told the BBC: "He was transported from his residence by paramedics and was pronounced a short time later. He was pronounced dead at the UCL Medical Centre."

He said a post-mortem examination would be carried out today when the cause of death would be determined.

"Everything is preliminary, once we get to the hospital to bring him into our facility we will be reviewing the medical records and an investigator will be assigned at which time we will get more information about what happened prior to this happening," he said.

Jackson was about to embark on a comeback tour, including 50 dates in London, which aimed to resurrect his fortunes.

Close friend Uri Geller said that it may have been the “stress” of Jackson’s London comeback that killed him.

Speaking from his home in Sonning, Berkshire, he said: “I guess the stress, the anticipation and the passion he was emitting from his heart, wanting to do this comeback so badly, maybe that got to him.

“That is all I can think, that maybe the stress killed him.”

He described Jackson, who was best man when Geller renewed his wedding vows, as a “genius”.

He said: “I’m shocked and devastated. I am hoping this is a dream I will wake up from, but it is not. Michael is dead.

“For him not to be around, that he’s gone, is just surreal. It cannot sink into my psyche. He was a genius.

“I had my rows and up and downs with him because we were friends. I voiced my opinion about what he was doing wrong and found myself shouting at him at certain times, but when this person you were so close to is taken away, is gone, it’s just unbelievable.”

Fears were sparked for Jackson’s health last month when four of his This Is It concert dates were pushed back, but organisers insisted the dates were moved due to the sheer magnitude of the spectacle.

Randy Phillips, president and chief executive officer of AEG Live, said the date changes had “absolutely nothing to do with (Jackson’s) health”.

The Rev Al Sharpton, a leading US civil rights campaigner and friend of Jackson for 35 years, said the star was a “trailblazer” and a “historic figure”.

“Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of colour way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama,” he said.

“Michael did with music what they did in sports, in politics, and in television. No controversy will erase the historic impact.

“He learned how to sing and dance past unfair criticism, he learned how to sing and dance and be creative against his worst critics, he learned how to create even beyond his own shortcomings.

“He knew he had shortcomings, but he knew how to build his strengths and use his strengths to help people around the world.

“Michael Jackson was a trailblazer, to say an icon would only give these young people in Harlem a fraction of what he was.

“He was a historic figure that people will measure music and the industry by.

“He has sold more single products than any other artist and no one could drag him down for that.”

He went on: “Finally, I hope Michael will be given the respect he was due.

“If he had shortcomings, they didn’t equal his strengths. And if he brought days that we all hoped were days that would never come again, they didn’t measure up to the many days, the more days, that he gave us of joy and pleasure.”

Jackson last toured 12 years ago when he played 82 shows in 58 cities for the HIStory tour.

At the World Music Awards in London in November 2006 he performed just a few lines from 'We Are The World.'

He has spent time living outside the United States since his 2005 acquittal on child molestation charges.

Jackson has three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Junior, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II.

A spokeswoman for The Outside Organisation, which was organising the publicity for Jackson's 50 farewell concerts, said she had no comment at this time.

Matt Blank from the Michael Jackson World Network fan club told BBC News 24 he was “a bit dumbfounded and a bit shellshocked by it all”.

He added: “I find it hard to believe this could be a reality.

“In the past, health issues of Michael Jackson have always been rumoured. I can only imagine this is down to the amount of stress he was under to come out and perform.”

He added: “It’s just unimaginable that Michael Jackson is no more, it’s just unbelievable.”

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family lawyer, told CNN he was told by brother Randy Jackson that the star collapsed at his home in west Los Angeles yesterday morning.

A cardiologist at UCLA told showbiz website TMZ.com Jackson died of cardiac arrest. The site reported that the emergency 911 call came in at 12.21pm (8.21pm Irish time) from 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.

Once at the hospital, staff tried to resuscitate Jackson 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.