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mergencyNet News Update

08/30/97 - 22:50CDT

Princess Diana Reported Dead in Paris Hospital

By C. L. Staten, Sr. analyst

Paris, France (Emergencynet) -- According to at least two international news services and a spokesman from Newsweek magazine, Princess Diana, Princess of Wales, age 36, has succumbed to injuries she received in a automobile accident that occurred at approximately midnight (Paris time).

Paris police officials have reportedly begun a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident that happened in an underpass of the Pont de l'Alma bridge, near the Seine river. Speculation continues to center on the involvement of at least one and maybe two motorcycles who may have been pursuing the vehicle containing the Princess and her companion, Dodi Al Fayed.

According to doctors at the Hospital de la Pitie Salpetriere, Princess Diana died as the result of massive internal and head injuries. Reportedly, she passed away at approximately 04:00 a.m. Paris time. French Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement and Paris Police chief Philippe Massoni were with British diplomatic personnel at the hospital at the time of the Princess' death. Prince Charles, vacationing in Balmoral, Scotland, has been informed of the accident.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair reportedly was ``shocked and saddened'' by the ``devastating, appalling tragedy,'' an ministerial spokesman said. Britons everywhere began to express their shock and dismay shortly after the announcement of Princess Diana's passing.

EmergencyNet News will continue to monitor events surrounding the incident and the ensuing investigation and provide additional details as they become available.

Newspapers reaction on 31st August 1997

EmergencyNet News *FLASH* Report

08/30/97 - 20:00CDT

Britain's Princess Diana Badly Injured in Crash

By C. L. Staten

Paris, France (EmergencyNet) -- According to Paris police, Princess Diana of England was critically injured this evening in an automobile crash near the river Seine, at the Pont de l'Alma bridge. Her companion in the car, Dodi Al Fayed, was believed killed in the accident, which reportedly happened shortly after midnight (Paris time), police said. The chauffeur of the vehicle was also believed killed in the incident and a fourth passenger, a bodyguard, was reported to be seriously injured.

One eyewitness described the accident as extremely serious and said that the vehicle, in which the princess was travelling, had overturned. An anonymous police spokesman said the accident occurred as the princess's car was allegedly being pursued by press photographers on a motorcycle, and that this pursuit may have contributed to the accident.

An American witness, Mike Williams, said that it appeared that victims were trapped in the vehicle and he reported there was no ambulance on the scene for "several minutes" after the occurrence. Additional details of the rescue are not available at the time of this report. The actual cause of the accident remains under investigation by Paris authorities.