Good Samaritan risked his life at Diana crash scene

By REBECCA CAMBER

Last updated at 00:48 23 October 2007

A good Samaritan risked his life to help Princess Diana's bodyguard at the scene of her fatal crash, an inquest heard yesterday.

Belkacem Bouzid is said to have held back a mob of paparazzi while tending to Trevor Rees-Jones in the Alma tunnel.

At the same time, petrol was pouring out of the Princess's wrecked Mercedes, threatening to turn the car into a fireball.

Joanna de Costa, an American tourist who stumbled upon the scene of the crash in Paris, gave a dramatic account yesterday of tweed-wearing Bouzid's heroics.

She heard the sound of the crash - on August 31, 1997 - and ran down the tunnel to try to stop cars piling into the wreckage.

Two men on a motorcycle forced their way through however.

The pillion passenger, identified by Mrs da Costa as photographer Serge Benhamou, jumped from the moving bike to start "snapping away" at the Mercedes.

"There was a motorbike that went through me, even though I was trying to stop him for his own safety,' she recalled.

"I was thinking, "Gosh, what a jerk" and here I am trying to stop them and he goes right by and he's going to hit that car.

"I remember him perspiring, his hair was wet. Their intention was to get to the crash scene. Nothing was going to stop them." Mrs da Costa described the tunnel as thick with smoke and the stench of burning tyres.

She retreated when she heard what she took to be fuel gushing from the Mercedes.

"I stopped in my tracks and when I heard the liquid sound, this gentleman (Mr Bouzid) stood up," she said. "He was aiding the passenger that survived.

"He ran out of the tunnel and started throwing his hands above his head, yelling something in French.

"I ran out. We all thought the car was going to explode."

Mr Bouzid, who has yet to give evidence, returned to the tunnel to help Mr Rees- Jones and to warn other bystanders of the risk of an explosion.

Mrs da Costa added: "I could see his (Mr Rees-Jones's) feet outside of the passenger door and I could see that gentleman in the tweed suit was assisting him and he was holding his head.

"This gentleman was trying to keep people away for obvious reasons, trying to stop the paparazzi trying to get to the Mercedes to take pictures.

"A lot of people were trying to get to the car and this gentleman would not let people mess with the car. He was waiting for either help or somebody to arrive in an official capacity."

It took police at least ten minutes to arrive and an ambulance was another five minutes behind that, she said.

The inquest also heard that a mystery biker was seen following the Mercedes before the crash that killed Diana, her lover Dodi Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul.

Grigori Rassinier described seeing the motorcycle amid the smoke billowing from the car. He said the rider braked and swerved sharply to dodge the wreckage before speeding off.

Mr Rassinier, who was driving the other way down the Alma tunnel in Paris, said he then saw Diana's "inanimate" body in the back of the car.

In a statement to police, Mr Rassinier said the vehicle's interior lights were on and he could see her lying still with her hand raised.

The High Court heard from another driver who was in the tunnel. Amel Samer said she saw two men, who had been standing with the paparazzi, drive off in a black car parked near the Mercedes.

The inquest continues.