Days before what would be Princess Diana’s 60th birthday, the fire chief who tended to her on the scene of her fatal crash in 1997 has spoken out for the first time, revealing her last words on the site, reported The Daily Mail.
Sgt. Xavier Gourmelon was among the first to reach the scene of the accident on that fateful night – the Pont de l’Alma tunnel – and has shared that when he arrived, Princess Diana was “moving and talking.”
Talking to The Daily Mail, Gourmelon shared that she spoke in English on the scene and said, “Oh my God, what’s happened?”
“I could understand that, so I tried to calm her. I held her hand,” Gourmelon, who has previously only talked to the police involved in the case, recalled.
Gourmelon also shared that party from some shoulder injuries, the People’s Princess was physically OK for the most part during the first few moments.
Much like Doctor MonSef Dahman, who worked on Princess Diana on that tragic night, Gourmelon also did not know that he was helping the ‘Princess’ Diana and only found out after he had loaded her into an ambulance to be taken to the hospital.
“He (a captain at the scene) tells me who she is and then, yes, I recognize her, but in the moment I didn’t,” he shared.
Doctor who worked on Princess Diana on fateful night speaks out
An off-duty doctor who had stopped at the crash sit on his way back from a party also shared his recollection of the night. “I discovered then she was a most beautiful woman and she didn’t have any serious injuries to her face. She was not bleeding then but she was almost unconscious and was having difficulty breathing,” shared Doctor Frederic Mailliez, one of the first people to help her at the scene.
July 1 marks the 60th birth date of Princess Diana, who tragically lost her life at the age of 36 in a horrific car crash in Paris in August 1997. Her rumoured beau, Harrods heir Dodi Fayed, also lost his life in the crash.
