The fireman who treated Princess Diana immediately after the car crash in Paris claims her condition was not life threatening, and remains convinced her death was suspicious.
Xavier Gourmelon was one of the first people on the scene, and gave Diana life-saving CPR after he pulled her out of the wrecked Mercedez in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris, on 31 August 1997.
Gourmelon claims that upon resuscitating the Princess, her eyes were open and she asked him “My God, what’s happened?” He was convinced that she would survive the ordeal, and notes that she only sustained a slight injury to her right shoulder.
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Independent.co.uk reports: The 36-year-old royal was was taken to Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in the French capital but was pronounced dead several hours later on 31 August 1997.
Mr Gourmelon said he was sure Diana would survive.
“I could see she had a slight injury to her right shoulder but, other than that, there was nothing significant. There was no blood on her at all,” he told The Sun.
“To be honest, I thought she would live. 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“.
Mr Gourmelon added the two passengers in the back of the car, Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed, who was also killed in the accident, were not wearing seat belts.
Family and friends of the Princess have said this was unusual behaviour for her and she normally buckled up for every journey.
At the inquest into the accident in 2008, it was ruled that Diana and Fayed were killed due to the “gross negligence” of the driver Henri Paul, who was drunk, as well as the paparazzi.
Flowers and cards have been left outside Diana’s former home Kensington Palace to mark the 20th anniversary of her death.
Prince William and Prince Harry, Diana’s sons, visited the tributes and thanked the crowds.
On Twitter, Kensington Palace wrote: “The Duke and Prince Harry are grateful for the many flowers, letters and messages they have received about their mother.
The Duke and Prince Harry are grateful for the many flowers, letters and messages they have received about their Mother. pic.twitter.com/pOAtvsOE4q
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) August 30, 2017
“They wanted to say thank you to those who had made the journey to Kensington Palace.”
Sean Adl-Tabatabai