DEBRIS FELL DOWN ALL AROUND ME
Debris fell down all around me'
A WOMAN injured in the Omagh bombing has spoken from her hospital bed of the fear she had felt for her pregnant daughter, who she was out shopping with at the time.
Valerie Emery, (41), and her daughter Nicola, (21), were enjoying a browse round the shops in the sunny weather when the bomb exploded.
Mrs Emery, who suffered cuts and fractures to her feet as a result of the blast, said the force of the bomb was like a pillow hitting her around the head.
She described how she saw debris flying all around her as she frantically tried to get to her feet and find her daughter.
Sitting up in bed in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, with husband Raymond. (42), sitting nearby, Mrs Emery was enjoying a visit from Nicola, who is due to give birth to the Emerys first grandchild within days.
Looking at his wife, Mr Emery said: "I could have lost them all."
The mother and daughter, who live in Omagh town, were with Mrs Emery's cousin Dorothy Graham and her nine-year-old son when they heard the bomb warning. "I thought it was a hoax but we decided to go home.
"But before we got home it went off," said Mrs Emery.
"It felt like a pillow had hit me around the head "
Meanwhile, Nicola had crossed the road and avoided the main force of the blast because she was standing behind a wall which she says must have saved her and her unborn child.
In the immediate aftermath of the explosion her first thoughts were for her cousin, who appeared to be missing.
She said: "I frantically looked for him and when we found him I rushed to my mum and tried to lift her up but I couldn't."
In spite of her injuries, Mrs Emery managed to struggle to her car which she had left that morning to go to work at a china shop before meeting her family when she finished at 2.30pm.
Mrs Emery said: "I don't know how I managed, I don't know how I walked but I managed to get to the car."
She said she had been worried about her daughter but cannot remember much more about her feelings on the day.
"I'm in a daze. I can't remember very much but 1 could see things falling down all around me. And I managed to get to the car and a friend from work who was there drove me to hospital."
Mrs Emery said her injuries had made her feel quite ill and that she did not take in much of what was happening around her in hospital.
She added: "I can remember seeing people lying everywhere in the hospital though."
She said she's now looking forward to the birth of her grandchild.
"I can't believe what has happened. I just think I'm very lucky to be here." said Mrs Emery who knew some of the people killed in the blast.
Of the bombers, she said: "1 don't think there is anything that could describe them. They didn't just affect one side, it affected everyone. They didn't care who it was as long as they had victims.
"It is horrible, really horrible to do something like that."
Of the day of the blast, she said: "It was a lovely day and we were just going to have a walk around the shops after I finished work. I can't believe it. it."
Mrs Emery, whose family is Protestant, said she was a cousin of Elaine O'Donnell who was also being treated in the Royal Victoria.
She added: "She has some sort of leg injury, I don't know what it is. She was going to get married in three weeks time but obviously that has been cancelled now."
Sitting on the bed next to her mother. Nicola said she was excited about the birth of her child and although uninjured by the blast was experiencing ringing in ears.
She said: "I feel shattered. I think I'm in delayed shock.
"I was very scared at the time. I thought I was going to lose the baby. But I was also worried about my mum."
She said she hoped the birth would give her mother something to look forward to when she gets out of hospital.
A WOMAN injured in the Omagh bombing has spoken from her hospital bed of the fear she had felt for her pregnant daughter, who she was out shopping with at the time.
Valerie Emery, (41), and her daughter Nicola, (21), were enjoying a browse round the shops in the sunny weather when the bomb exploded.
Mrs Emery, who suffered cuts and fractures to her feet as a result of the blast, said the force of the bomb was like a pillow hitting her around the head.
She described how she saw debris flying all around her as she frantically tried to get to her feet and find her daughter.
Sitting up in bed in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, with husband Raymond. (42), sitting nearby, Mrs Emery was enjoying a visit from Nicola, who is due to give birth to the Emerys first grandchild within days.
Looking at his wife, Mr Emery said: "I could have lost them all."
The mother and daughter, who live in Omagh town, were with Mrs Emery's cousin Dorothy Graham and her nine-year-old son when they heard the bomb warning. "I thought it was a hoax but we decided to go home.
"But before we got home it went off," said Mrs Emery.
"It felt like a pillow had hit me around the head "
Meanwhile, Nicola had crossed the road and avoided the main force of the blast because she was standing behind a wall which she says must have saved her and her unborn child.
In the immediate aftermath of the explosion her first thoughts were for her cousin, who appeared to be missing.
She said: "I frantically looked for him and when we found him I rushed to my mum and tried to lift her up but I couldn't."
In spite of her injuries, Mrs Emery managed to struggle to her car which she had left that morning to go to work at a china shop before meeting her family when she finished at 2.30pm.
Mrs Emery said: "I don't know how I managed, I don't know how I walked but I managed to get to the car."
She said she had been worried about her daughter but cannot remember much more about her feelings on the day.
"I'm in a daze. I can't remember very much but 1 could see things falling down all around me. And I managed to get to the car and a friend from work who was there drove me to hospital."
Mrs Emery said her injuries had made her feel quite ill and that she did not take in much of what was happening around her in hospital.
She added: "I can remember seeing people lying everywhere in the hospital though."
She said she's now looking forward to the birth of her grandchild.
"I can't believe what has happened. I just think I'm very lucky to be here." said Mrs Emery who knew some of the people killed in the blast.
Of the bombers, she said: "1 don't think there is anything that could describe them. They didn't just affect one side, it affected everyone. They didn't care who it was as long as they had victims.
"It is horrible, really horrible to do something like that."
Of the day of the blast, she said: "It was a lovely day and we were just going to have a walk around the shops after I finished work. I can't believe it. it."
Mrs Emery, whose family is Protestant, said she was a cousin of Elaine O'Donnell who was also being treated in the Royal Victoria.
She added: "She has some sort of leg injury, I don't know what it is. She was going to get married in three weeks time but obviously that has been cancelled now."
Sitting on the bed next to her mother. Nicola said she was excited about the birth of her child and although uninjured by the blast was experiencing ringing in ears.
She said: "I feel shattered. I think I'm in delayed shock.
"I was very scared at the time. I thought I was going to lose the baby. But I was also worried about my mum."
She said she hoped the birth would give her mother something to look forward to when she gets out of hospital.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0062
Published Date: 18-Aug-98
Related Images
