Diana inquest hears evidence from France

A witness to the aftermath of the crash which killed Princess Diana and her lover Dodi Fayed has been giving evidence at the inquest into their deaths.

Speaking via videolink from the French Court of Appeal in Paris, Antonio Lopes-Borges described the scene when he arrived in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel shortly after midnight on August 31 1997.

He told the hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice, central London, that he saw the crashed Mercedes in the tunnel and was asked to stop by a man who told him there was going to be an explosion.

Mr Lopes-Borges said: "There was first the car and there was a guy, he looked like an Egyptian, and he told us to go back and he told us can you please go back because there is going to be an explosion.

Ian Burnett, counsel to the inquest, asked him if he had seen any photographers at the scene.

Mr Lopes-Borges replied: "Yes, there was already one photographer. He was taking pictures".

Asked if any more arrived, he added: "It seems to me another photographer arrived. The same as the other, he took pictures and after taking pictures, I don't remember if it was the first or the second one, but he took his cellphone and called somebody."

The witness said three or four dark-coloured cars and the white 4x4 had followed the Mercedes "at the same speed" towards the tunnel.

"Everybody was in a hurry," he said.

But he did not see those cars when he got to the tunnel.

Edmund Lawson QC, for the Metropolitan Police, asked the witness: "Did either of the photographers do anything to help the people in the crashed car?"

Mr Lopes-Borges replied: "No."

The inquest, which started last week after a ten-year wait, is set to last up to six months.

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