Pop legend Michael Jackson, 50,  is reported to have died of a heart attack after he was rushed to hospital in Los Angeles.

The entertainment TMZ website reports Jackson suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon and paramedics were unable to revive him.

Earlier, a fire department official told the Los Angeles Times that Michael Jackson had been rushed to the hospital.

Steve Ruda told the newspaper on Thursday that Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30pm.

The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the paper.

The report of the heart attack was confirmed by the OK! website, which said streets surrounding the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in LA had been blocked off with yellow tape.

TMZ reports that it had spoken with a Jackson family member, who said Michael was in "really bad shape".

His family were heading to the hospital, the report said.

- As reported by The Age

**UPDATE - JACKSON'S FORMER MANAGER, MICHAEL LEVINE, HAS JUST RELEASED THIS FAIRLY SCATHING STATEMENT**

"As someone who served as Michael Jackson's publicist during the 1st child molestation incident, I must confess I am not surprised by today's tragic news.

Michael has been on an impossibly difficult and often self-destructive journey for years. His talent was unquestionable but so too was his discomfort with the norms of the world.

A human simply can not withstand this level of prolonged stress.''