Pop star Michael Jackson fainted on stage in the United States (U.S.) during rehearsal on Wednesday (December 6) for a television special.

First reports were that he was not breathing. But paramedics who rushed to the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan, New York, found him semi-conscious, although his blood pressure was said to be "dangerously low".

The 37-year-old pop star was rehearsing for a Home Box Office (HBO) cable concert with French mime artiste Marcel Marceau to be broadcast Read more

Pop star Michael Jackson fainted on stage in the United States (U.S.) during rehearsal on Wednesday (December 6) for a television special.

First reports were that he was not breathing. But paramedics who rushed to the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan, New York, found him semi-conscious, although his blood pressure was said to be "dangerously low".

The 37-year-old pop star was rehearsing for a Home Box Office (HBO) cable concert with French mime artiste Marcel Marceau to be broadcast Sunday.

Paramedics told how they found Jackson slumped on the stage.

"When we got there he was semi-conscious. We gave him oxygen.

He appeared dehydrated and fatigued. It seemed like he hadn't eaten in awhile," said Lashawn Knight, one of the first on the scene.

David Bookstaver, spokesman for New York city's emergency medical services said Jackson's condition was not life-threatening.

"He had low blood pressure but nothing life-threatening. He did not say anything." Jackson's younger sister Janet arrived at the Beth Israel North Hospital to see her brother a short time later.

A hospital spokesman described the singer's condition as stable.

Jackson's concert with French mime Marcel Marceau will be broadcast on Sunday as "Michael Jackson: One Night Only", a programme that will have an estimated world-wide audience of 250 million. Close