Prince found unresponsive in lift, CPR failed

Chanhassen - Pop superstar Prince was unresponsive in an elevator when he was found by sheriff's deputies who had been called to his suburban Minneapolis compound, a Minnesota sheriff said on Thursday.

Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson said deputies responded to a medical call about 09:43. Medical personnel tried CPR, but couldn't revive the 57-year-old Prince, who was pronounced dead at 10:07.

The sheriff's brief statement said the death was under investigation and provided no other details.

News of Prince's death sparked an outpouring of grief and mourning from around the world.

It came just a few days after he was reported to have been hospitalised on Friday in Illinois on his way back from a concert in Atlanta.