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August 31 1997BRITAIN 
 

04.41 SUNDAY PA NEWSFLASH: Diana, Princess of Wales has died, according to British sources, the Press Association learned this morning

©Death of a tragic princess: Diana's life ended in hospital after a crash that is being blamed on pursuing paparazzi

Princess Diana and lover Dodi die in Paris car crash

by Andrew Alderson
and Charles Masters
Paris

DIANA, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed, her new millionaire boyfriend, were killed in a high-speed chase fleeing photographers early today after a dinner date in Paris.The princess, 36, lost her fight for life at 4am, nearly four hours after being injured in the accident. The Queen and the Prince of Wales, who divorced his wife a year ago, were woken at Balmoral and told of the tragedy.

A statement from Buckingham Palace, issued shortly after 5am, said: "The Queen and the Prince of Wales are deeply shocked and distressed by this terrible news. Other members of the family are being informed."

William, 15, and Harry, 12, were woken by their father at Balmoral and told of their mother's death. They were understood to have been due to meet up with her today.

Police, who began a criminal investigation into the cause of the crash, said it was caused by a group of up to seven paparazzi pursuing the couple's car on motorcycles shortly after midnight. The couple have been followed round the clock by the media since they began their relationship two months ago.

The driver of the princess's car, a security officer from the Ritz hotel, Paris, was also killed, officials at police headquarters said. The princess's bodyguard was cut from the wreckage of the car and is seriously injured.

Diana died at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital close to the scene of the accident. A doctor who treated her said she had received serious head injuries and suffered a heart attack. Sir Michael Jay, the British ambassador, was at her bedside. Early reports wrongly indicated the princess had minor injuries.

Tony Blair, the prime minister, said: "I am utterly devastated. The whole of our country, all of us, will be in a state of shock and mourning. Diana was a wonderful, warm and compassionate person who people, not just in Britain but throughout the world, loved, and she will be mourned as a friend."

Mohamed al-Fayed, Dodi's father, who travelled to Paris by helicopter early today, said the deaths were "appalling and quite needless". He added: "The world has lost a princess who is simply irreplaceable".

The accident took place in a short tunnel beside the River Seine near the Alma bridge in western Paris in sight of the Eiffel tower. It is understood that five of the photographers following the car were arrested. One was reported to have been beaten up by a witness.

The black Mercedes was travelling at about 80mph in a restricted speed area when it hit the concrete central reservation in the tunnel. Fayed, 42, was believed to have been sitting next to Diana in the car. He is understood to have been given heart massage beside the road, but did not respond.

Dodi Fayed and the princess arrived in Paris yesterday afternoon and are believed to have gone to his luxurious apartment before dining at the Ritz, owned by Fayed's father.

Mike Walker, an American tourist from Ohio, saw Diana's overturned Mercedes in the aftermath of the crash. "It looked as though the car had been travelling at high speed and had hit the tunnel wall. The passenger side airbag was inflated.

"I saw no other cars or motorbikes involved. There were four people in the car with others standing around looking bewildered and in tears. It was a really rough accident."

A British photographer who was among 30 outside the Ritz waiting for Fayed and Diana to emerge said hotel security kept telling the paparazzi they would be out in 15 minutes. "Then they did a strange manoeuvre with the cars ­ they were playing around with us, messing us about," he said. The couple left by the back entrance. On hearing of the crash, the photographer, who did not give his name, said: "It is bleak, it has gone too far."