Prince was carried unconscious by bodyguard from private jet

In this Feb. 1, 2007, file photo, Prince plays his guitar during a press conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Fla. Prince's publicist confirmed Thursday, April 21, 2016, that Prince died at his home in Minnesota. He was 57.
In this Feb. 1, 2007, file photo, Prince plays his guitar during a press conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Fla. Prince's publicist confirmed Thursday, April 21, 2016, that Prince died at his home in Minnesota. He was 57.

MINNEAPOLIS-Prince's bodyguard carried his unconscious body down the steps of his private jet after it made an emergency landing in Moline, Ill., six days before the superstar collapsed and died at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minn.

During the middle of the night stop on the taxiway of the Quad City International Airport, paramedics from the local fire department, responding to a call of an "unresponsive passenger" on Prince's flight, worked to revive the musical icon before speeding him to the hospital, according to fire and ambulance records released Wednesday by the City of Moline.

The heavily redacted document shows that emergency responders arrived at 1:24 a.m. on April 15 and cleared the scene by 2:16 a.m. The records contain almost no detail about what the responders did.

Several sources with direct knowledge of the death investigation, however, have told the Star Tribune that paramedics gave Prince a shot of the opioid antidote Narcan, and that Prince had overdosed on an opioid.

Prince's plane was en route to Minneapolis from Atlanta, where he had played two concerts in one night, when it made the emergency landing.

The records listed paramedic Justin Frederiksen as a secondary caregiver. Reached by phone Wednesday, Frederiksen said he had "no comment on it."

Paramedic Austin Rands, listed as the primary caregiver, could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to the 7-minute air traffic control recording of the emergency landing, controllers were initially confused about the nature of the emergency beyond the fact that there was an "unresponsive passenger" on board. The pilot then clarified that the passenger was a man, but did not identify him.

Prince died six days later at Paisley Park. Sources have told the Star Tribune that they are investigating the role opioids may have played in his death. Authorities have said that Prince was alone when he died and that neither foul play nor suicide are suspected.

The Carver County Sheriff's Office has said that a cause of death likely won't be made public for weeks, until it receives reports from the medical examiner and toxicology results.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Prince's sister, Tyka Nelson, filed a motion in Carver County District Court to have a special administrator appointed to gather and protect the musician's assets. The document indicated that Prince does not have a will.

Following a telephone conference call Wednesday, District Judge Kevin Eide ordered that Bremer Trust, National Association be formally appointed as special administrator for Prince's estate.

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