Bride survives head injuries after Paris nightclub wall collapse

A to be bride endured a terrifying experience at a Paris nightclub weeks before her wedding.

Ffion Price-Dunne, 28, suffered severe head injuries, facial wounds, a brain bleed, and a fractured skull when a wall collapsed on her after an electric battery exploded in a Paris venue.

Remarkably, Ffion, from Brynmawr, south Wales, found the strength to marry her longtime partner Christian, despite dealing with the severe aftermath of the incident.

Ffion recounted to WalesOnline how she woke up “in a puddle of blood.” Her family and friends had organised a hen do in Paris in July, visiting a popular club near the Place de la Bastille on their second night out, Saturday, July 6.

“My younger sister planned the whole weekend. I only found out the itinerary on the day. We had a fantastic time at a beautiful chateau outside Paris and visited the Moulin Rouge. It was perfect,” Ffion recalled.

“We were on the first floor, and the dance floor was below. My mum, mother-in-law, and some friends left for a nearby cafe, not wanting to stay for the nightclub. We left our table and went downstairs. Minutes later, I remember waking up on the floor, covered in blood.”

The chaos stemmed from an e-scooter battery explosion on the fourth floor of the Parisian building, which brought down part of the Paris nightclub’s wall. Around 140 people were in the club at the time.

Three people, including Ffion, were injured. Ffion’s mother, Sarah Price, who was at a nearby cafe, described the moment: “We’d been at the cafe for about five minutes when everyone’s phone started ringing. We knew something was wrong.”

Sarah added, “We got a call saying Ffion had been knocked out. I ran over. Inside, it was like a scene from Casualty. Ffion was on the floor, dressed in white, surrounded by blood. They wouldn’t let us near her because there was a fire they were trying to contain and everyone was being evacuated.”

Sarah mentioned that Ffion was quickly taken to the hospital and treated in intensive care. She had two large head wounds, facial injuries, a brain bleed, and fractures to her skull and ear.

Ffion spent two weeks in the hospital, with her fiancé Christian flying out to be with her. “It was the worst time of our lives,” Sarah admitted.

Ffion has little memory of her hospital stay. She said, “I remember arriving in A&E and hearing about a brain bleed. It felt like I was drifting in and out of sleep. I remember the local anaesthetic for stitching my face and stapling my head. The next clear memory was when my dad arrived.”

Ffion was discharged on Monday, July 15. Unable to fly, she returned to the UK via Eurostar on Friday, July 19.

Back in Wales, Ffion began to recover. Regarding her wedding, she remembered, “Chris asked what we would do about the wedding. I thought we hadn’t planned it all for nothing. I felt lucky to be alive and didn’t want to postpone something meant to be exciting.”

Despite everything, they married during the bank holiday weekend in August. Ffion described the wedding as “lovely,” noting, “It was tiring but special and emotional; there wasn’t a dry eye.”

Ffion continues to recover two months later. A GoFundMe campaign has raised over £2,500 to support her.

“I’m still recovering, with spells of dizziness. I haven’t returned to work yet. Physically, I’m doing well; my scars have healed. I had trouble walking at first and lost weight but kept going for walks to maintain normalcy. Physically, I’ve done well,” she shared.

Ffion added, “This experience made me realise anything can happen at any time. But I have my family, Chris, and supportive friends.”

“A week before the wedding, the hen do girls met up. We’ve been through so much together. Even though Paris affected our wedding day, we didn’t want it to overshadow it. It was a lovely day.”