Examiners confirm singer Prince died of painkiller overdose

Medical examiners have confirmed that US singer Prince had died from an accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl, in a report, from the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office in Minnesota.

The report was published over a month after the singer was found dead in a lift at his home.

The media was told that prescription painkillers were found in the singer's possession following his death, and detectives have already questioned a doctor who saw the 57-year-old twice in the weeks before he died.

A BBC report says that a police warrant has also revealed that Dr Michael Schulenberg prescribed medication to the singer on 20 April - the day before he died, but the warrant does not say what was prescribed or whether Prince took the drugs.

According to the autopsy report, Prince self-administered fentanyl, an opioid many times more powerful than heroin.

The US Drug and Enforcement Administration had warned that the drug, often laced with heroin, was a “threat to health and public safety” and that even small doses of fentanyl could be lethal, with " and overdoses related to the drug occurring at an alarmingly frequent rate.