JORDANIAN SCHOOL GIRLS CIRES OUTSIDE AMMAN HOSPITAL WHERE KING HUSSEIN DIED, 1999-02-07 (photo)

A Jordanian school girl cires as a tear rolls down her cheek February 7 morning when her elementary school class visits the hospital compound and prays for their monarch. King Hussein died this morning, two days after returning to Jordan following failed cancer treatment, a palace source said. A government minister said the king had died at 11.34 a.m. (0934 GMT). There was no official confirmation of the king's death, but state television and radio both started broadcasting recitations from the Koran. The king's death followed reports that the 63-year-old monarch's condition had deteriorated late on Saturday and that he had been treated for a sharp fall in his blood pressure. Medical sources said the drop in blood pressure had been a sign his heart might be failing. Other internal organs had failed earlier and he had been unconscious since Thursday. JWH/JDP