Doctor who tried to save US ambassador says he died of smoke inhalation

America's ambassador to Libya died of asphyxiation, apparently from smoke inhalation, after being caught up in an attack in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, according to the doctor who treated him.      

Chris Stevens, 52, was killed when he and a group of embassy employees went to the US consulate to try to evacuate staff as the building came under attack on Tuesday by a mob with guns and rocket propelled grenades.   

He was brought by Libyans to the Benghazi Medical Center without other Americans, and no one at the facility apparently knew who he was.     

"There were traces of smoke on his face and the smell of smoke on his body, he was dead," said Dr. Ziad Buzaid.    

"I tried the usual first aid in cases of suffocation, I tried CPR for an hour-and-a-half. We used recovery drugs but unfortunately there was no response. Then, around 1345 local time (1145 GMT), we announced the official time of death.     

"There were no bruises on his body, his body had no injuries. There was only the smell of smoke, suffocation is the main reason for death."      

Three other Americans were also killed in the attack, which is said to have been carried out by protesters angry over a film that ridiculed Islam's Prophet Muhammad.     

Footage from the scene on Wednesday showed the scorched remains of the consulate building.      

Stevens was a career diplomat who spoke Arabic and French and had already served two tours in Libya, including running the office in Benghazi during the revolt against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.       

He was confirmed as ambassador to Libya by the Senate earlier this year.     

His death deprives the United States of someone widely regarded as one of the most effective American envoys to the Arab world.    

In his unfailingly polite and friendly manner, Stevens brokered tribal disputes and conducted US outreach efforts in Jerusalem, Cairo, Damascus and Riyadh.      

As a rising star in US foreign policy, he cheerily returned to Libya four months ago, determined to see a democracy rise where Gadhafi's dictatorship flourished for four decades.       

President Barack Obama's administration, roiled by the first killing of a US ambassador in more than 30 years, is investigating whether the assault on the consulate was a planned terrorist strike to mark the anniversary of the 11 September, 2001 attacks and not a spontaneous mob enraged over the anti-Islam video. 


APTN