Whitney Houston’s body arrived in New Jersey, where funeral will be held at the end of the week

A plane believed to be carrying Whitney Houston’s body has landed in her home state of New Jersey, after leaving from LA.

In a news conference on Monday, Beverly Hills police spokesman Lt. Mark Rosen said fire department officials were told the singer was found unresponsive on Saturday morning.

“Ms. Houston was pulled from the tub by members of her staff and hotel security was promptly notified,” he said.

“First aid and CPR measures were performed in an attempt to revive her,” he said, adding that after unsuccessful attempts, Houston was pronounced dead at 15:55 local time.

The police spokesman played down reports that prescription drugs might have been involved in Whitney Houston’s death.

“Our intent at Beverly Hills Police Department is not to fuel the speculation or rumors that are circulating right now,” Lt. Mark Rosen said.

“We can’t comment on where those rumors have come from.”

However, the Los Angeles’s coroner’s office then said there were bottles of prescription medicine in the room, although it did not provide further details.

“There weren’t a lot of prescription bottles,” said Ed Winter, the coroner’s assistant chief.

“You probably have just as many prescription bottles in your medicine cabinet.”

Earlier, the coroner’s office confirmed Whitney Houston’s body was released to her family late on Monday morning.

Whitney Houston’s body was then flown from Van Nuys Airport in the Los Angeles area east to New Jersey, where a funeral will be held at the end of the week.

Sales of Whitney Houston’s albums have soared on both sides of the Atlantic following her death in Los Angeles.

Whitney – The Greatest Hits is at two on the US iTunes chart, while Whitney Houston – The Ultimate Collection is second in the UK iTunes chart.