MP NUMBED BY SCENE OF CARNAGE
MP numbed by scene of carnage
By Seamus McKinney
A VISIBLY distressed West Tyrone MP, William Thompson said he was numbed that such an appalling crime should visit itself on Omagh.
Struggling to hold back his tears, the Ulster Unionist MP said he hoped Saturday's bomb would bring the people of Omagh together.
"Omagh is my town. We have good relationships in Omagh. This bomb has affected both Roman Catholic and Protestant.
"We share our grief together and I hope that what has happened today will bring us closer together," he said.
Mr Thompson visited the Tyrone and County Hospital on Saturday night where he met many of those injured in Saturday's bomb.
He later went to Omagh leisure centre where he helped comfort relatives of the dead and injured.
"This is the first incident that has happened in my constituency. I never thought it would happen here. I regret it very much," he said.
Expressing the hope that whoever was responsible would be brought to justice, Mr Thompson said he had no idea what implications Saturday's bomb would have for the peace process.
"Tonight our minds are concentrated more on what has happened today and the sorrow of those who are suffering tonight and suffering through the loss of loved ones," he said.
The West Tyrone MP said he personally knew some of the injured although, by Saturday night, he was unsure if any of the dead were personally acquainted with him.
"One of the people who is seriously injured who I know, I understand, has lost a leg and an arm.
"And obviously there are those who have more serious injuries and I can only hope they will recover," he said.
Mr Thompson also paid tribute to medical staff and others who worked at the scene of the explosion as well as in the various hospitals where the dead and injured were taken.
By Seamus McKinney
A VISIBLY distressed West Tyrone MP, William Thompson said he was numbed that such an appalling crime should visit itself on Omagh.
Struggling to hold back his tears, the Ulster Unionist MP said he hoped Saturday's bomb would bring the people of Omagh together.
"Omagh is my town. We have good relationships in Omagh. This bomb has affected both Roman Catholic and Protestant.
"We share our grief together and I hope that what has happened today will bring us closer together," he said.
Mr Thompson visited the Tyrone and County Hospital on Saturday night where he met many of those injured in Saturday's bomb.
He later went to Omagh leisure centre where he helped comfort relatives of the dead and injured.
"This is the first incident that has happened in my constituency. I never thought it would happen here. I regret it very much," he said.
Expressing the hope that whoever was responsible would be brought to justice, Mr Thompson said he had no idea what implications Saturday's bomb would have for the peace process.
"Tonight our minds are concentrated more on what has happened today and the sorrow of those who are suffering tonight and suffering through the loss of loved ones," he said.
The West Tyrone MP said he personally knew some of the injured although, by Saturday night, he was unsure if any of the dead were personally acquainted with him.
"One of the people who is seriously injured who I know, I understand, has lost a leg and an arm.
"And obviously there are those who have more serious injuries and I can only hope they will recover," he said.
Mr Thompson also paid tribute to medical staff and others who worked at the scene of the explosion as well as in the various hospitals where the dead and injured were taken.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0029
Published Date: 17-Aug-98
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