Ministry singer, El Pasoan falls ill onstage in Paris

It hasn’t been a good week for celebrities with an El Paso connection with the deaths of actors Sherman Hemsley and Lupe Ontiveros.

Ministry frontman and El Pasoan Al Jourgensen collapsed onstage Saturday night while performing in Paris with his band Ministry.

He was rushed to the hospital and doctors diagnosed him as having “had a full-system collapse due to extreme dehydration and heat exhaustion intensified by the lack of ventilation on stage at the venue,” according to the band’s statement.

Jourgensen, who had a well-documented drug habit years ago that he kicked, was examined for alcohol and drug use at the hospital.

“Doctors confirm via blood tests conducted that Jourgensen’s alcohol blood levels were well below normal and no narcotics were found in his system,” the band statement said.

Jourgensen canceled Sunday’s concert appearance and was headed to Switzerland to continue recuperating.

“I will make it up to you, somehow,” Jourgensen said in the statement. “I love Paris, I love the Parisian people. I’m so sorry …but, shit happens and the shit hit the fan for me last night.”

Jourgensen fully intends to complete the remaining shows on the Ministry DeFiBriLlaTouR European leg.

Jourgensen, known as one of the founders and innovators of industrial music, has lived in El Paso for a few years with his wife.

In the spring he released Ministry’s newest album, “Relapse.”