Princess Diana’s last words before she died have been revealed by the French firefighter who tried to save her life as she sat on the floor of a smashed auto in a Paris traffic tunnel.
Speaking on the 20th anniversary of the princess’ death, former firefighter Xavier Gourmelon recalled the night of the tragic car crash that took Diana’s life.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain, Gourmelon said he was convinced the princess would survive the incident.
“Nobody knew it was her, no one had recognized her,” he said.
“As I approached, there was a blonde person sitting on the floor, she regained consciousness and looked at me and said, ‘Oh my God, what’s happened’."
Gourmelon described Diana as being “a bit agitated,” adding that he tried to calm her down as they took her from the car and put her on a stretcher. Reports agree there was no blood or visible trauma.
At that point a doctor at the scene declared she was in cardiac arrest and CPR was initiated.
In a separate interview, the Gourmelon told The Sun he initiated CPR and, when she started breathing again, he was overwhelmed with relief.
“To be honest I thought she would live,” he said.
“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.”
There are no public reports that Princess Diana was conscious in the ambulance or hospital before she died.
Gourmelon has remained silent about that night for 20 years but granted his first interviews with media this week.
“As a fireman you are part of the French military so you are forbidden to talk,” he told The Sun.
“Now I have left the fire service I felt it was okay.”
A photographer, Pierre Suu, who had followed Diana the night she was in the fateful car crash, shared his experience with LBC.
Arriving at the scene he said the car was a complete wreck.
“I remember thinking whoever was in there could not be in good shape,” he said.
Princess Diana was declared dead at 12.22 a.m. on Aug. 31, 1997.
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