Whitney Houston was underwater and apparently unconscious when she was pulled from a Beverly Hills hotel bathtub, and she had prescription* drugs in her room, authorities said on Monday.

    Two days after her death, Houston’s body was taken to a small, Los Angeles-area airport and flown to New Jersey, where her family was making arrangements for a funeral at the end of the week.

    An autopsy* was done on Sunday, and authorities said there were no indications of foul play* and no obvious signs of trauma on Houston’s body. It could be weeks, however, before the coroner’s office completes toxicology tests to establish the cause of death.

    The 48-year-old singer had struggled for years with cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her behavior had become erratic.

    Houston was found on Saturday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel by a member of her staff about 3:30 p.m., just hours before she was supposed to appear at a pre-Grammy Awards gala, police Lt. Mark Rosen said.

    She was pulled from the tub by members of her staff, and hotel security was promptly notified, Rosen said. She was pronounced dead about half an hour later.

    Two people who spoke with Houston’s family said the singer was being taken to New Jersey. Late Monday, a hearse* under heavy police escort arrived at the Newark, N.J., funeral home that officials said was handling the arrangements for the late pop star.

    Houston was born in Newark and raised in nearby East Orange. She began singing as a child at Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church, where her mother, Grammy-winning gospel singer Cissy Houston, led the music program for many years.

    The White House said President Barack Obama’s thoughts and prayers were with Houston’s family, especially her daughter. Press secretary Jay Carney paid tribute to the singer’s “immense talent” and called it a tragedy to lose somebody so gifted at such a young age.

    Houston’s death is a sad rewind of what befell Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse. It took three months for a London coroner to rule that Winehouse drank herself to death last July. A powerful anesthetic* was quickly linked to Jackson’s June 2009 death. Three months ago, Jackson’s doctor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

    Mourners left flowers, balloons and candles at the wrought-iron fence around the tall brick Newark church where she got her start. It sits near an abandoned housing project and the train line leading to New York City.

    (SD-Agencies)