Tunnel de l’Alma, Paris: night between 30 and 31 August 1997
00:25
A few hours had passed between the arrival in Paris from Sardinia of Lady Diana Spencer and of the companion Dodi Al Fayed and the hell of Tunnel of the Soul.
A Mercedes SL380 black has just impacted at high speed against the thirteenth pillar of the tunnel in the heart of Paris, stopping on the right side of the road. The smell of burning tires and spilled fuel frame the continuous sound of the horn of the car carrying the couple that filled the pages of the gossip columns of those last years.
That mess of sheet metal had been the company car until a few minutes earlier.Ritz Hotelowned by Dodi’s father. The couple had boarded the Mercedes to move from the hotel to a family apartment in Rue Arsène Houssaye (a short distance from Place Vendome) as the couple feared they had been discovered by paparazzi.
At around 00:20 the princess and her partner Dodi got into the car, taking their places in the back seats. The driver was Henry Paul; the fourth passenger is Trevor Rees JonesAl-Fayed’s bodyguard. At the same time the hotel management brings out another black Mercedes, aself-decoy to mislead photographers.
00:26 hours
A few seconds after the crash, photographers arrive on the scene Romuald Rat and Stéphane Darmon riding their motorcycles. In front of them the scene is horrifying. The engine block of the Mercedes had been ejected and thrown a few meters ahead. Rat is the first to recognize Dodi Al Fayed trapped in the wreckage in an unconscious state. Two other photographers, Arnal and Martinezthey reach the scene of the accident. The first confused calls to the emergency services are made, while the paparazzi’s flashes immortalize Diana’s car.
A passerby who was walking through the tunnel approaches the car: Henry Paul shows no signs of life, with an arm sticking out of the windshield. Next to him, Trevor Rees-Jones is still alive, despite the very serious facial trauma caused by the impact and the explosion of the airbag. In the back seats, Dodi Al-Fayed lies motionless, his eyes rolled back. Diana Spencerhalf-covered by one of the mats, lies half-reclined on the floor with her head resting on the front seat. She is alive but in a state of severe shock. The first to manage to open the back door and reach the princess is the photographer Rat who tries to reassure her that help is coming.
00:28 hours
While an altercation breaks out between Rat and his paparazzi colleagues, by chance a medical car arrives on the opposite lane. SOS Doctors in transit. The driver is doctorFrederic Mailliez who runs to the scene with oxygen. Realizing the seriousness of the accident, he gives the first professional instructions to the operations center from his radio.
Diana is now in a state of semi-consciousnessshe only wheezes, but she is alive. A few seconds later a car from Police who was in the vicinity on patrol stops. The officers Dorzee and Gagliardone they push photographers away.
00:32 hours
7 minutes later the impact from the entrance of the tunnel you can hear the two-tone sirens of the ambulances Paris Firefighters and SAMU (Urgent medical aid service) along with a rescue vehicle to free the trapped victims. The doctors Jean Marc Martino, Arnaud Derossi and Claude Fuilla take charge of the rescue operations. Dodi al Fayed is declared dead almost immediately, as is the driver Henri Paul. Dr. Martin give first aid to Lady Dianawhile firefighters begin maneuvers for its safe removal.
A few minutes later the princess she is intubated and has her first cardiac arrest.
01:25 am
It will takealmost an hour to extract Diana from the wreckage. Moved to the ambulance, she is stabilized on the spot. The race to the hospital begins Pitié-Salpetrierewhose resuscitation had been alerted. The ambulance exits the Alma tunnel escorted by the police five minutes later, proceeding at low speed due to the very serious conditions of the princess.
01:45 am
While the authorities are alerted (Prime Minister Jospin, Interior Minister Chevènement and the British Embassy in Paris) the SAMU ambulance with Diana on board stops along the Austerlitz Bridge. The princess has a new cardiac arrest when the ex-husband finds out about what happened Prince Charles and the Queen Elizabeth. The children William and Harry they are not woken up.
02:00 am
The ambulance arrives at the Salpetriere where the medical team immediately finds Lady Diana in very serious condition. hemothorax. The primary Bruno Riou and Alain Pavie proceed with the desperate operations to try to save the princess’s life while the cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers continue incessantly. After the thoracic drainage the doctors realize the absolute gravity of the damage suffered: in the impact she was pulmonary aorta detached which is promptly sutured with a delicate operation in which the princess continues to be resuscitated and mechanically ventilated.
04:05 am
After more 150 vials of adrenaline administered by doctors in an attempt to restart Diana Spencer’s heart, resuscitation procedures are suspended and declared dead.
