A family doctor for John Travolta yesterday observed the autopsy of the actor�s teenage son, who died unexpectedly in the family�s Grand Bahama island holiday home.

A family doctor for John Travolta yesterday observed the autopsy of the actor's teenage son, who died unexpectedly in the family's Grand Bahama island holiday home.

Travolta received permission from the Bahamian government to have his physician attend the procedure, politician Obie Wilchcombe said.

Authorities are trying to determine what caused the death of 16-year-old Jett, who had a history of seizures and was found unconscious in a bathroom on Friday morning.

Two doctors, including a US-certified pathologist, were expected to perform the autopsy.

Jett's body was expected to be taken to Ocala, Florida, where the actor owns a home, by Wednesday.

Wilchcombe, a parliament member who represents part of Grand Bahama, said he was with the actor after his son was pronounced dead at a Freeport hospital on Friday.

Travolta, 54, and his wife Kelly Preston, 46, have said that Jett became very sick when he was two years old and was diagnosed with Kawasaki Syndrome, an illness that leads to inflamed blood vessels in young children. Preston blamed household cleaners and fertilisers and said that a detoxification programme based on teachings from the Church of Scientology helped improve his health, according to People magazine.

"We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives," Travolta and Preston said on Sunday in their first public statement since Jett's death.

A police statement said that Jett had not been seen since Thursday when a nanny, Jeff Kathrain, found him unconscious late Friday morning.

But Michael McDermott, an attorney for the actor, said police wrongly left the impression that Jett was unsupervised. He said two nannies were with Jett throughout the evening, and he does not believe the teenager was in the bathroom for a long time.