Britain's Princess Diana, who had been struggling to build a new public and private life after her turbulent divorce, was killed Sunday along with her companion, Dodi Fay-ed, in a car crash as their Mercedes was being pursued by photographers.
The 36-year-old princess died at 4 a.m. after going into cardiac arrest, doctors told a hospital news conference.The crash happened shortly after midnight in a tunnel along the Seine River at the Pont de l'Alma bridge, less than a half mile north of the Eiffel Tower in central Paris. It came as paparazzi - the commercial photographers who constantly tail Diana - followed her car, police said.
The death was announced at a 6 a.m. hospital news conference by Dr. Bruno Riou, an anesthesiologist.
Diana and Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, separated in 1992 after 11 years of marriage and divorced last year.
It was not immediately known if their two sons, Prince William, 15, and Prince Harry, 12, had been informed of her death.
President Clinton said early Sunday he was "profoundly saddened" by the news of Princess Diana's death.
Deputy White House press secretary Joe Lockhart, with the vacationing president on Martha's Vineyard, said he spoke with Clinton, who gave him this statement:
"Hillary and I knew Princess Diana and we were very fond of her. We are profoundly saddened by this tragic event."
Clinton said his thoughts and those of his wife were with Diana's family, friends "and especially her children."
"The death of the Princess of Wales fills us all with shock and deep grief," said British ambassador Michael Jay, who was at the hospital.
Diana's death from cardiac arrest came after she suffered heavy internal bleeding in the early morning accident. French radio said the paparazzi were trailing Diana's car on motorcycles. Five photographers were arrested, it said.
The high-speed pursuit ended in a crash in the tunnel that trapped several people in a pileup. The force of the crash crumpled the roof of the Mer-ce-des to door-high level.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was awakened with news of the accident, said he was "shocked and saddened" by the "devastating, appalling tragedy," a Downing Street spokesman said.
Fayed, the 42-year-old son of the billionaire Egyptian owner of London's prestigious Harrod's department store, was also killed in the accident, along with the chauffeur.
His father, Mohamed Al Fayed, was on his way to Paris, said his spokesman, Michael Cole.
France Info reported the chauffeur was a security agent at the Hotel Ritz, owned by Fayed's father.
The fourth person in the car, a bodyguard, was also seriously injured in the crash.
Diana died at the Hospital de la Pitie Salpetriere in south-central Paris.
Before news of the death, a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman in London said Prince Charles, now in Balmoral, Scotland, had been informed of the accident.
"We are aware of this awful accident but we are awaiting further details about what has happened," the spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity.
American tourists Tom Richardson and Joanna Luz were among the first on the scene.
They told CNN they were walking nearby when they heard the crash and ran into the tunnel.
The car Diana was in "looked like it hit a wall," said Richardson, of San Diego.
"There was smoke. I think the car hit a wall. A man started running towards us telling us to go."
Luz said: "The horn was sounding for about two minutes. I think it was the driver against the steering wheel."
Fayed and Princess Diana's close friendship became clear to the outside world over the past five weeks as the couple took a series of holidays together in the Mediterranean.
Newspapers reported Diana first met Fayed almost 10 years ago when he and Prince Charles played polo on opposing teams. Films he produced or co-produced include the 1981 Oscar-winning "Chariots of Fire," "The World According to Garp," "F/X" and "Hook."
On Aug. 21, Princess Diana and Fayed flew to the French Mediterranean resort of St. Tropez for their third holiday together in five weeks.