EVEN IN THE SHOP WINDOWS THERE WERE BODIES
Even in the shop windows there were bodies....
The horror of Omagh on Saturday stunned the world. Belfast Telegraph reporter ENDA McCLAFFERTY spoke to stunned witnesses in the wake of the bombing
ULSTER'S bloodiest day will live long in the memory of 16-year-old Joelene Jameson.
The young schoolgirl was working just yards from where the bomb exploded and had full view of the devastation it caused.
Nursing a head wound and splattered in blood she described the scene of carnage in the street, in particular the horrific sight of small children.
"There were bodies everywhere, even in the shop windows, it was just a bloodbath," she said.
"I saw one wee girl who was no more six years old running past screaming with a piece of metal stuck in her stomach."
Joelene worked in the kitchen of Nicholls and Shields restaurant which took the brunt of the blast.
But luckily for her she was thrown clear of the building as it collapsed.
Her friend, who is due to get married in the next month, was less fortunate. She suffered serious burns to her face and was sent to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for a skin graft.
Joelene's story was no less gruesome than the scores of other eyewitness accounts given to reporters in the hours that followed the explosion on Saturday.
All across the town there were people - many still in a state of Shock - recounting the horrific details of what they saw.
The 5001b bomb had left a trail of carnage and devastation stretching over 200 yards.
What was once the town's main shopping centre - Market Street - was reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds.
John Prancott (51) arrived at the scene just seconds after the explosion.
"I turned the corner and the first thing I saw was the remains of a two-year-old child smouldering on the ground," he said.
"The child's mother was lying in a shop window covered in blood and despite her own injuries she was trying her best to reach the youngster.
I also saw a hand in the rubble and beside it there was a man lying dead with his leg cut off above the knee.
There was blood everywhere it was just like a battlefield."
Colin Burns and Clodagh Taggart told of their lucky escape after they emerged from the Kosy Corner Bar seconds before it collapsed.
"We were told to evacuate the place and just as we had walked about 20 feet from the door we heard the blast and the pub came tumbling down behind us," explained Colin.
"Out in the street there were people running around on fire and I counted six bodies lying just yards from each other.
The air was filled with the smell of burning flesh and there was glass everywhere.
I saw one man who had lost a leg and who was still holding on to two shopping bags, it was a horrible sight."
SDLP councillor Joe Byrne was one of the first on the scene.
"There were bodies strewn all over the street," he said, "and I met one man who left his wife to go into a shop and he never saw her again.
Parents who were themselves covered in blood and seriously injured were running around screaming, looking for their children.
I remember seeing one wee boy lying there with his leg blown off. He just looked as if he was in a state of shock."
The horror of Omagh on Saturday stunned the world. Belfast Telegraph reporter ENDA McCLAFFERTY spoke to stunned witnesses in the wake of the bombing
ULSTER'S bloodiest day will live long in the memory of 16-year-old Joelene Jameson.
The young schoolgirl was working just yards from where the bomb exploded and had full view of the devastation it caused.
Nursing a head wound and splattered in blood she described the scene of carnage in the street, in particular the horrific sight of small children.
"There were bodies everywhere, even in the shop windows, it was just a bloodbath," she said.
"I saw one wee girl who was no more six years old running past screaming with a piece of metal stuck in her stomach."
Joelene worked in the kitchen of Nicholls and Shields restaurant which took the brunt of the blast.
But luckily for her she was thrown clear of the building as it collapsed.
Her friend, who is due to get married in the next month, was less fortunate. She suffered serious burns to her face and was sent to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for a skin graft.
Joelene's story was no less gruesome than the scores of other eyewitness accounts given to reporters in the hours that followed the explosion on Saturday.
All across the town there were people - many still in a state of Shock - recounting the horrific details of what they saw.
The 5001b bomb had left a trail of carnage and devastation stretching over 200 yards.
What was once the town's main shopping centre - Market Street - was reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds.
John Prancott (51) arrived at the scene just seconds after the explosion.
"I turned the corner and the first thing I saw was the remains of a two-year-old child smouldering on the ground," he said.
"The child's mother was lying in a shop window covered in blood and despite her own injuries she was trying her best to reach the youngster.
I also saw a hand in the rubble and beside it there was a man lying dead with his leg cut off above the knee.
There was blood everywhere it was just like a battlefield."
Colin Burns and Clodagh Taggart told of their lucky escape after they emerged from the Kosy Corner Bar seconds before it collapsed.
"We were told to evacuate the place and just as we had walked about 20 feet from the door we heard the blast and the pub came tumbling down behind us," explained Colin.
"Out in the street there were people running around on fire and I counted six bodies lying just yards from each other.
The air was filled with the smell of burning flesh and there was glass everywhere.
I saw one man who had lost a leg and who was still holding on to two shopping bags, it was a horrible sight."
SDLP councillor Joe Byrne was one of the first on the scene.
"There were bodies strewn all over the street," he said, "and I met one man who left his wife to go into a shop and he never saw her again.
Parents who were themselves covered in blood and seriously injured were running around screaming, looking for their children.
I remember seeing one wee boy lying there with his leg blown off. He just looked as if he was in a state of shock."
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0015
Published Date: 17-Aug-98
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