On August 31, 1997, a Mercedes speeding through the streets of Paris tried to escape the photographers chasing it. He entered the Alma tunnel, where he hit one of the pillars at great speed. The driver, Henri Paul, and Dodi Al-Fayed died at the scene. Security guard Trevor Rees-Jones and were seriously injured. Although “human hearts” was conscious when the services arrived, she ultimately died after being taken to the hospital. The security guard, who was the only survivor of the accident, consistently remained silent and emphasized that he did not remember anything from that night. In 2017, 20 years after the tragedy, in an interview with The Sun, a firefighter taking part in the rescue operation told what he heard from the then conscious duchess.
Princess Diana’s accident. 20 years after the tragedy, the firefighter told what he found at the scene
The first person on the scene was emergency doctor Frédéric Mailliez, who was returning from dinner through the Alma tunnel. He was the one who called the ambulance and the fire brigade. However, he had no idea who the passengers were and later said that he was very surprised by the presence of photographers. A few minutes after the call, the services arrived. Among them was firefighter Xavier Gourmelon. 20 years later, in 2017, in an interview with The Sun, the man told how the action took place. He also revealed Princess Diana’s last words.
According to the man, the car was in ruins. They immediately took action and immediately noticed that the passenger was conscious. But they didn’t know who he was. – She said to me: My God, what happened? – confessed the fireman. – I held her hand and told her to be calm – he added. When she lost consciousness and stopped breathing almost immediately after being pulled out of the wreckage, the firefighter immediately took action. It worked, and the man was convinced that Diana would survive.
So he was surprised to learn that the duchess died in hospital that same night. – Now I know that she had serious internal injuries, but the whole action is still strongly stuck in my memory. The memory of that night will stay with me forever, said the firefighter. He also emphasized that he had “no idea” who he was helping. He found out later from one of the ambulance paramedics.
Photographers were blamed for Princess Diana’s death. Only three were charged, but not for the accident
According to the police, when the services arrived at the scene, there were a total of 17 photographers in the Alma tunnel. Some of them arrived at the scene after the fact. Hundreds of photos were found in cameras and recordings were also confiscated. Witnesses said that paparazzi even climbed on the broken hood of the Mercedes. The officers checked that none of the photographers present at the scene called an ambulance. One of them contacted a British tabloid, offering photos taken on site. None of them was convicted of causing the accident or failing to provide assistance, but three were charged with “invasion of privacy.”
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
