It has been 28 years since the world lost Princess Diana in a devastating car crash in Paris, yet new details continue to emerge about her final moments.
On August 31, 1997, Diana and her partner, Dodi Fayed, were attempting to flee photographers when their Mercedes crashed at the entrance to the Pont de l’Alma underpass. Chauffeur Henri Paul reportedly lost control of the car, clipping another vehicle before striking a concrete pillar at around 65 mph. The impact killed Paul and Fayed instantly. Diana, 36, was rushed to hospital but later succumbed to her injuries. The sole survivor was Dodi’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones.
Among the first on the scene was Paris firefighter Xavier Gourmelon. Speaking years later, he recalled that he did not immediately recognise the “blonde woman” in the wreckage as the Princess of Wales. She was still conscious when he approached and tried to comfort her.
According to Gourmelon, Diana looked at him and whispered what would become her last words: “My God, what’s happened?” Moments later, she went into cardiac arrest.
“I massaged her heart and a few seconds later she started breathing again. It was a relief of course, because as a first responder you want to save lives – and that’s what I thought I had done,” Gourmelon told The Sun.
He said he believed she would survive. “As far as I knew when she was in the ambulance, she was alive and I expected her to live. But I found out later she had died in hospital. It was very upsetting. I know now that there were serious internal injuries, but the whole episode is still very much in my mind.”
The firefighter admitted he only realised the identity of the woman he had tried to save once she was placed into the ambulance. “It was only when one of the paramedics told me that I learned it was Princess Diana,” he said.
Her death sent shockwaves across the globe. Tens of thousands gathered outside Kensington Palace to lay flowers, while her funeral service was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide. Even decades later, Diana remains remembered as the “People’s Princess,” her life and legacy continuing to resonate across generations.
