Docs worked an hour to resuscitate MJ: Jackson's brother

Physicians at the UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles worked for more than an hour to resuscitate pop icon Michael Jackson, according to his brother Jermaine Jackson in broadcast remarks on Thursday.

The sudden death of the rock star on a hot Thursday afternoon triggered not only worldwide mourning but also an odd disconnect as he came back to life with his star power in nonstop broadcasts of file footage.

Paramedics answered an emergency call at Jackson's rented mansion outside Los Angeles to find him unresponsive, officials said.

"It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest at his home," an emotionally-wrought Jermaine told reporters. "Upon arriving at hospital at 1.14 pm, a team of doctors including emergency physicians and cardiologists attempted to resuscitate him for a period of more than one hour."

The Los Angeles County coroner Fred Corral confirmed Jackson was pronounced dead at 2.26 pm (2126 GMT), but would not comment on the likely cause of his death.

A Los Angeles police official said that given the 'high-profile nature' of the death, the case had been assigned to the robbery and homicide team. An autopsy would be carried out to determine the cause of death, with results to be released Friday.

A Los Angeles police helicopter transported Jackson's body to the medical examiner's office, where his shrouded remains were placed in a simple ambulance for the final transport.

If cardiac arrest is confirmed, medical experts said there were a variety of possible causes, including a heart attack, an aneurysm or a blood clot.

Jermaine, a one-time member of the Jackson 5 and Michael's older brother, refused to take questions, ending his remarks to reporters with his own tribute: "May Allah be with you, Michael, always."