Last Updated on: 30th June 2023, 04:06 am
Doctor recalls trying to save Princess Diana: ‘She had trouble breathing’
31st August 2022 marked the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death in a tragic car accident in Paris, France.
Decades later, the French doctor, who was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the Alma tunnel accident in Paris on August 31, 1997, recalled the Princess of Wales’ final moments.
Frédéric Mailliez admits that he was one of the last people to see Diana alive. “I realize my name will always be associated with that tragic night,” he told the Associated Press.
Mailliez, who was driving home through the tunnel when he saw a smoking Mercedes almost split in two, said: “I feel a bit responsible for his final moments.”
“Go towards the rubble. I opened the door and looked inside,” he said. Mailliez recalled seeing “four people, two apparently dead, unresponsive, not breathing, and the other two on the right, alive but in serious condition.”
When the passenger screamed, Mailliez watched him breathe. “But the passenger, the young woman, was kneeling on the floor of the Mercedes with her head down. She had trouble breathing. I needed help fast.”
He ran to his car to call emergency services and get a breathing bag. “I was unconscious. He got some more energy back, but couldn’t say anything.”
Also Read: What was Princess Diana’s last meal before she died?
He later found out on the news, along with the rest of the world, that the woman he was treating was Lady Diana.
“I know it’s amazing, but I didn’t recognize Princess Diana,” he said. The doctor immediately called an ambulance. “I tried to comfort her,” he recalls.
He also noted that paparazzi gathered at the scene to document the accident. Firefighters quickly arrived and Diana was taken to a Paris hospital, where she died a few hours later. His partner Dodi Fayed and the driver were also killed.
Also Read: Princess Diana made a prediction about Prince William
