Pioneering South African heart surgeon Dr Christiaan Barnard died in Cyprus today where he was on holiday, officials said.
Dr Barnard, who was 78, died at a hotel in the western resort of Paphos. A doctor called in by the hotel certified his death, officials said.
"Dr Christiaan Barnard died this morning...The causes of death are not known but the chances are that it was a heart attack or some such nature," Health Minister Mr Frixos Savvides told reporters.
Dr Barnard made medical history in 1967 with the world's first heart transplant. He was a frequent visitor to Cyprus.