Series of
Real-Time Reports involving the tragic death of Diana, Princess
of Wales,
in a Car Crash in Paris. France
EmergencyNet News *FLASH* Report
08/30/97 - 20:00CDT
Britain's Princess Diana Badly
Injured in Crash
By C. L. Staten
Paris, France (EmergencyNet) -- According to Paris police,
Princess Diana of England was critically injured this evening in
an automobile crash near the river Seine, at the Pont de l'Alma
bridge. Her companion in the car, Dodi Al Fayed, was believed
killed in the accident, which reportedly happened shortly after
midnight (Paris time), police said. The chauffeur of the vehicle
was also believed killed in the incident and a fourth passenger,
a bodyguard, was reported to be seriously injured.
One eyewitness described the accident as extremely serious and
said that the vehicle, in which the princess was travelling, had
overturned. An anonymous police spokesman said the accident
occurred as the princess's car was allegedly being pursued by
press photographers on a motorcycle, and that this pursuit may
have contributed to the accident.
An American witness, Mike Williams, said that it appeared that
victims were trapped in the vehicle and he reported there was no
ambulance on the scene for "several minutes" after the
occurrence. Additional details of the rescue are not available at
the time of this report. The actual cause of the accident remains
under investigation by Paris authorities.
EmergencyNet News Update
08/30/97 - 22:50CDT
Princess Diana Reported Dead in
Paris Hospital
By C. L. Staten, Sr. analyst
Paris, France (Emergencynet) -- According to at least two
international news services and a spokesman from Newsweek
magazine, Princess Diana, Princess of Wales, age 36, has
succumbed to injuries she received in a automobile accident that
occurred at approximately midnight (Paris time).
Paris police officials have reportedly begun a criminal
investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident
that happened in an underpass of the Pont de l'Alma bridge, near
the Seine river. Speculation continues to center on the
involvement of at least one and maybe two motorcycles who may
have been pursuing the vehicle containing the Princess and her
companion, Dodi Al Fayed.
According to doctors at the Hospital de la Pitie Salpetriere,
Princess Diana died as the result of massive internal and head
injuries. Reportedly, she passed away at approximately 04:00 a.m.
Paris time. French Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement and
Paris Police chief Philippe Massoni were with British diplomatic
personnel at the hospital at the time of the Princess' death.
Prince Charles, vacationing in Balmoral, Scotland, has been
informed of the accident.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair reportedly was ``shocked and
saddened'' by the ``devastating, appalling tragedy,'' an
ministerial spokesman said. Britons everywhere began to express
their shock and dismay shortly after the announcement of Princess
Diana's passing.
EmergencyNet News will continue to monitor events surrounding the
incident and the ensuing investigation and provide additional
details as they become available.
02:15CDT - 08/31/97
From a West Coast Analyst to ERRI:
"Just a note. I've already received several phone calls
asking if it was an assassination. The timing and people were
extremely convenient for both the anti-Saudis and the Royal
family. I'm not suggesting anything except you can expect the
conspiracy guys out in full force on this one. The calls I
received were not from the usual conspiracy guys. If Mr. and Mrs.
America are wondering, you can imagine what is going to happen
here. First suggestion from a UDT guy after seeing the car: a
pipe bomb."
(ERRI "Instant
Analysis": The vehicle did not appeared charred, nor
were there reports of a major fire, parts were not strewn for a
distance from the wreckage...so a bomb would appear doubtful at
this time. There was a, so far, unexplained witness report of an
explosion...which may have been the crash itself, but not other
details to support that theory.
We are exploring more about the Al Fayed position visa-vie the
Saud family and Saudi dissident, and the possibility of other
security threats. Also, we have questions about identifying the
"photographers" that were pursuing the car as it
crashed? We simply need more facts before proceeding with another
theory, other than they ran into a pillar in the midst of a
high-speed chase. For the time being, absent additional facts, we
must proceed with the assumption that it was simply an
accident...although the alleged involvement of motorcyclists must
be investigated completely.
Finally, the bodyguard and driver (described as a hotel security
guard) should have been expected to flee a group of
motorcyclists, "paparazzi" or not, if they had
surrounded the vehicle of their principals. Given the history of
Paris and terrorist attacks, standard security procedures would
have caused them to attempt to allude any unknown personnel...out
of fear that it was an assassination or kidnap attempt. More
facts are needed, in order to draw more conclusions. -- C. L.
Staten, Sr. Analyst
From: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES
REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Sunday, August 31, 1997-Vol. 1 -
243
TODAY'S TOP STORY: 09:30CDT
PRINCESS DIANA KILLED IN TRAGIC
ACCIDENT
From the ERRI Watch Center
PARIS (EmergencyNet News) - Diana, Princess of Wales, died early
Sunday after a horrible high-speed car crash which also killed
her close friend, millionaire-movie producer Dodi Fayed. The
shocking tragedy, which left Britain in mourning for the
glamorous Princess, came in an underpass in Paris as the couple
were in their chauffeur driven Mercedes 600, apparently being
followed by French paparazzi photographers on motorcycles.
It took rescue workers almost two hours to extricate Diana, age
36, from the wreckage and took her to a hospital where doctors
battled for two hours to try to save the life of the Princess as
she lay with massive bleeding from terrible injuries to her
chest. During the vain and desperate battle, surgeons opened her
chest and massaged her heart with their hands in a bid to save
her. Because it took so long to extricate her from the wreckage
of the car, the "golden hour" of emergency medicine was
lost in which doctors may had been able to do more to save the
life of the Princess.
The crash, which also killed the driver -- a security man from
the Ritz Hotel, owned by Dodi's father Mohamed Al Fayed --
occurred just before 0100 hours, Paris time. The Princess and
Dodi had been dining at the exclusive Parisian hotel and were
apparently returning to a townhouse in the city. A bodyguard,
also in the car, was seriously injured.
As their Mercedes 600, said to be ruggedly-built automobile,
entered an underpass near to the River Seine it went out of
control struck a center concrete divider and slammed into a wall.
Some reports said the vehicle was traveling as fast as 100 MPH
and that it rolled over several times. There has been no official
report, as of yet, from Paris accident investigators.
There have been unsubstantiated reports that the flash from the
photographers cameras may have blinded the driver of the car as
he was traveling at high-speeds and then he lost control. It is
not known if the driver had received special executive protection
driver training.
Between four and seven French photographers were detained by
police and at least one of their machines was impounded and taken
away. The photographers, all French, have been detained for
questioning by police. They are being held at the headquarters of
the Crime Squad in the city. An investigation into the incident
was being led by Commissaire Martine Monteil. The investigation
was described as a "criminal matter" and the tragedy
was not being investigated merely as a multiple fatal traffic
accident.
The Princess died at Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris at 0400
hours local time after going into cardiac arrest. During their
desperate attempts to save her life, doctors first attempted CPR
before deciding to open her chest to carry out the same procedure
internally. The staff at the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris
also repaired a hole in a major vein in Diana's heart which was
causing haemorrhaging. The Princess's heart had stopped after the
bleeding.
The first attempts to revive the Princess took place at the scene
of the accident, in a road tunnel across the Seine river from the
Eiffel Tower. In a brief statement written in French, the
hospital added: "The Princess of Wales was the victim
tonight of a high speed traffic accident. She was immediately put
under the care of the SAMU of Paris which carried out initial
resuscitation. On her arrival at the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital
she presented a severe thoracic haemorrhage before suffering a
sudden heart attack. An urgent thorocotomy revealed a major
laceration to the left pulmonary vein. Despite the closure of
this laceration and an external and internal heart massage
lasting two hours, no circulation was able to be restored and
death was declared at 4am."
Efforts to save the life of Diana, at the accident scene and at
the hospital, were described as "heroic."
(C) EmergencyNet News Service, 1997. All rights reserved.
Redistribution without permission is prohibited.
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