Princess Diana's last moments in dramatic pictures

[Honey]

The Diana inquest jury has been yesterday shown shocking paparazzi pictures of the princess as she lay dying.


One close-up photograph was taken moments after the Mercedes limousine carrying her and lover Dodi Fayed crashed in a Paris underpass.
It showed her lying in the back seat of the mangled car as a French doctor battled to save her.
These images cannot be shown here because the coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, banned their release on the inquest website "for the reason that it is possible for pictures that have been pixillated to be un-pixillated if they get into certain hands".

But he did release a series of other paparazzi images showing the moments before Diana and Dodi got into the back of the black Mercedes which was to drive them to their death. Scroll down for more...

Fateful journey: Princess Diana gets into the Mercedes at the back of the Ritz Hotel in Paris


Read more...

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• Diana inquest: Jury's descent into tunnel of death

In one of these grim images that can not be shown, Diana had been pulled from the vehicle and lay on the ground in the Alma tunnel, surrounded by paramedics in red fluorescent jackets desperately trying to resuscitate her.

Even as she fought for life, with her lover and chauffeur already killed in the impact, the paparazzi were determined to get their photographs. The jury was told that they began taking pictures before emergency services arrived - without even attempting to open the car doors and help those inside.

In another paparazzo photograph, emergency service personnel were seen carrying a body from the scene. It was heavily pixillated, making it impossible to identify whether it was Dodi or driver Henri Paul.
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The blurred images of Diana and Trevor Rees-Jones can be made out as they leave the Ritz




The sombre series of photographs - never seen in public before - was shown on widescreen TV screens inside the High Court.


Neither Diana's sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale nor Harrods tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed was in court when the graphic images taken in the Alma underpass were screened.
The jury of six woman and five men had already heard from one French motorist, Thierry Hackett, who described seeing the Mercedes swerving from one side of the road to another at 70mph closely pursued by at least four paparazzi on motorbikes. Scroll down for more...

Princess Diana, driver Henri Paul (left) and bodyguard Trevor Rees Jones (below right) all exited the Ritz Hotel by the backdoor




Another witness spoke of the underpass being lit up by 'bluish flames' as the paparazzi camera flashlights captured the grisly scene - and his shock that none of them appeared to be trying to help the stricken occupants inside the Mercedes.

Metropolitan Police inspector Paul Carpenter talked the jury through the series of graphic photographs taken in the early hours of August 31, 1997.
Afterwards Michael Mansfield QC, the barrister representing Mohamed Al Fayed, asked him: "It's perfectly obvious that the paparazzi who were present at the scene of the crash had no compunction about taking photographs of the victims both inside the car and being carried outside the car?"

The police officer replied: "None whatsoever, sir."
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Diana and Dodi are pictured as they wait in the back of the car




Police 'mugshots' of 17 photographers involved in the French criminal investigation were shown to the jury, along with paparazzi pictures of Diana and Dodi - escorted by bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones - as they left the rear of the Ritz Hotel at the start of their final, fateful journey.

Eight photographers and one motorcylist were arrested after the crash and investigated on suspicion of manslaughter and failing to assist at the scene but all were formally cleared in 1999 by a French investigating magistrate.
Around 400 photographs have been seized from paparazzi taken at the front of the Ritz Hotel and earlier in the day after Diana and Dodi flew into Paris following their Mediterranean holiday.
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Crash scene: Firefighters quickly got to the wreckage



No photographs taken on the journey to the underpass have been found but a bundle of pictures has been compiled by Inspector Carpenter taken by various paparazzi in the immediate aftermath of the crash.
One shot taken by Serge Arnal showed a small group of people crowding around the wreck of the Mercedes shortly after it smashed into a concrete pillar.
A second photograph, taken just feet from the car, clearly showed Diana in the rear seat of the Mercedes. She was partially obscured by French doctor Frederick Maillez, leaning into the back of the car and desperately administering emergency aid.
The princess's body was bent forward, her head down in the well of the car. Her face - photographed in profile - was pixillated but her blonde hair was easily recognisable.
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Diana and Dodi in the Ritz




Minutes earlier, photographs seized from Jacques Langevin showed Diana, her hand to her face, climbing into the Mercedes at the rear of the hotel before heading towards the underpass.
Another photograph showed the last images of Dodi and Diana alive together, as they hunch forward in the back of the vehicle.
In contrast to CCTV footage taken moments earlier of a happy, carefree Diana and Dodi, these new pictures showed the princess apparently distressed at the presence of the paparazzi.
Some of the grimmest photographs came from the camera of Fabrice Chassery, the inquest was told.

One showed Dr Maillez leaning into the car over the digitally-obscured figure of Diana. Another photographer, Christian Martinez, captured colleague Romuald Rat squatting next to the open rear door of the Mercedes - and inches away from Diana's face.
According to Inspector Carpenter, Rat was 'very, very early' at the scene. One of his photographs showed the Mercedes in the deserted underpass, smoke still pouring from the wreckage.
In cross-examination, Inspector Carpenter agreed with the barrister when he asked him: "Rather than approach the Mercedes and open the door to assist or ascertain the condition of those inside, what we have is someone who is simply walking past the vehicle for the purposes of taking photographs?"

A similar photograph of Diana in the wreckage provoked intense controversy and anger from Princes William and Harry earlier this year when broadcast in the Channel 4 documentary Diana: The Witnesses in the Tunnel.
In a letter to Channel 4 their private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton said the princes believed the screening was a 'gross disrespect' to their mother's memory.





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From left-to-right: bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, Princess Diana and Henri Paul on that fateful night in 1997. An eyewitness told the inquest today he saw photographers taking pictures of the princess after the crash, making no attempt to help the victims


Diana's last moments in dramatic pictures you've never seen before | the Daily Mail

How sick are the paps who didn't help, and would rather get their photo

[pacific breeze]

Well, imagine the uproar if the paps had dragged Diana out of the vehicle. Unless there is fire, I always thought the general public wasn't supposed to move accident victims.

These paps have already been cleared of any wrongdoing. Methinks the Mail is having a slow news day.

[Penny Lane]

I dont think the argument here is that the paps lack of action was egregious.. I can understand how they might be held accountable for worsening the situation (not sure if they have Good Samaritan laws in France), but for them to continue to take photographs of not only the wreckage, but the bloody aftermath, AFTER being a direct cause of said accident is vile. It's completely despicable.

[msdeb]

a couple of the books i read said that some of the photogs called police... and a couple of them were even told (by police) to stop calling in because they thought it was a joke. the doctor that happened upon the scene said that the paps were snapping away (but that none interfered with his work)

[pacific breeze]

I dont think the argument here is that the paps lack of action was egregious.. I can understand how they might be held accountable for worsening the situation (not sure if they have Good Samaritan laws in the UK), but for them to continue to take photographs of not only the wreckage, but the bloody aftermath, AFTER being a direct cause of said accident is vile. It's completely despicable.

When were they convicted of being the "direct cause of said accident?"

[celeb_2006]

I know there were some pics circulating on the net that supposedly showed her lifeless body, but believe they were of some other incident.

[Penny Lane]

When were they convicted of being the "direct cause of said accident?"

No where did I say "convicted" which implies that they were formally charged and sentenced.

Pages 6 and 7 in this restricted document describe it to some extent.

ETA:
Taken from an official Metropolitan Police investigation..

- A vehicle may have blocked the Mercedes on its final journey thereby
preventing it from making a turn-off and essentially forcing it into the Alma
underpass.
- The existence of a bright white flash may have unlawfully contributed to the collision.
- Eyewitness evidence indicates that there were vehicles following the Mercedes, and
that there was also a vehicle that prevented the Mercedes from making a turn and thereby forced it to enter the Alma tunnel a route that took them away from their intended destination immediately.

Taken from an eyewitness testimonial..

"This car was clearly being chased by several, I would say between four and six, motorcycles. There were two riders on some of the bikes. These motorcycles were sitting on the vehicle’s tail and were trying to get alongside it. At the time, I thought it could be a police chase. I noticed that the vehicle, which continued travelling in the left hand lane, was veering from side to side and having trouble keeping its line. Clearly, the driver of the vehicle was being hindered by the motorbikes."

Another testimonial from another witness:

"The bikes were in a cluster, like a swarm around the Mercedes. At this point, I just thought nothing of it, as it would not be uncommon to see this type of aggressive behaviour in the US."

"When I got there I saw flashes from photographers, which attracted my attention. The flashes came from a black scooter, there were two people on it. It was the pillion passenger who was taking photos…"

‘

I should point out that the motorcyclist that I saw pursuing the Mercedes was taking
photos of it in the tunnel, I could see the reflections of flashes from a camera.’

‘… about twenty photographers were taking non-stop flash photos, the car was lit up with the flashes.’

But then again.. purely speculation.

[A*O]

I dont think the argument here is that the paps lack of action was egregious.. I can understand how they might be held accountable for worsening the situation (not sure if they have Good Samaritan laws in the UK), but for them to continue to take photographs of not only the wreckage, but the bloody aftermath, AFTER being a direct cause of said accident is vile. It's completely despicable.

1. The accident happened in France.
2. I don't believe the paps were directly responsible for the accident and neither do the police.

[Mira]

The white vehicle driven in the tunnel by the.... (fill in the blank)

[pacific breeze]

Unless they were charged and convicted of being the cause, all the rest is speculation.

The restricted document is in Tina Brown's book The Diana Chronicles.