DRIVER TELLS OF JOURNEY FROM HELL
Driver tells of journey from Hell
A BUS driver who ferried some of those injured in the Omagh bombing to hospital told last night how he will never forget their screams, Michael McNally, 40, described how he drove his bus into the centre of the carnage and tried to get as many injured as possible on board.
He said the journey to the hospital, only a few minutes away, was the longest he will ever make in his life.
"It was like a scene from hell. I wasn't able to drive fast because people were screaming in pain. I was only able to go at about 30mph," he said.
"As we went over the the hospital, I could hear the roars of pain."
Mr McNally, who is from Omagh and knew many of the casualties, had been at the bus depot when he heard the explosion. He and another driver, Aidan McBride, rushed to the scene.
"As we got to the traffic lights the sight was horrendous," he said, shaking.
"What we saw was impossible to imagine. There were bodies lying, people screaming, people digging at buildings with their bare hands trying to get people out from under the rubble.
"It was just like a scene from hell. I just stopped the bus in the middle of the road. There were four ambulances in front of me, and we just tried to get people on board."
He said: "People were wandering about in total shock, others were screaming and lying in the road. People were carrying the injured in their arms.
"I just thought we will try and get as many people in here as we can because this is carnage.
"There were so many of them. I thought good God - there's so many. "Some of the people were able to walk on the bus, others we carried on."
Mr McNally said people came from everywhere to help.
"People were coming in mini-buses, vans, jeeps and even taxi men and driving instructors. We took about 25."
Among those on board the bus were some of the Spanish students.
"We laid some on the seats. There was three or four children, some of them seemed quite badly off, bleeding from their heads, arms and legs. Their clothes were torn.
"I remember a wee small boy in the front seat who was rigid with fear. He just sat there staring but his mother was hysterical. She kept shouting over and over again: "He'll bleed to death."
The bus driver said he lifted the worst injured on board. One old woman had most of her clothes blown off "another girl seemed to have a hole in her side.
"They handed her to me and she put her arm around my neck and when I got home my hair and my uniform was all drenched in blood. I had to throw my clothes out."
He said they carried the injured into the hospital casualty department but it was so full that they had to start taking them into the outpatients' ward.
"It was crazy. There were people lying everywhere and blood everywhere like you wouldn't believe," said Mr McNally, who is married with a teenage son and daughter.
So many local people had done so much that he didn't think he was a hero.
But he added: "Usually if I saw blood I would run a mile but this just had to be done.
"It's hard to believe what people can do in these circumstances. So many ordinary people helped out. It's amazing what people can manage to do at times like this."
A BUS driver who ferried some of those injured in the Omagh bombing to hospital told last night how he will never forget their screams, Michael McNally, 40, described how he drove his bus into the centre of the carnage and tried to get as many injured as possible on board.
He said the journey to the hospital, only a few minutes away, was the longest he will ever make in his life.
"It was like a scene from hell. I wasn't able to drive fast because people were screaming in pain. I was only able to go at about 30mph," he said.
"As we went over the the hospital, I could hear the roars of pain."
Mr McNally, who is from Omagh and knew many of the casualties, had been at the bus depot when he heard the explosion. He and another driver, Aidan McBride, rushed to the scene.
"As we got to the traffic lights the sight was horrendous," he said, shaking.
"What we saw was impossible to imagine. There were bodies lying, people screaming, people digging at buildings with their bare hands trying to get people out from under the rubble.
"It was just like a scene from hell. I just stopped the bus in the middle of the road. There were four ambulances in front of me, and we just tried to get people on board."
He said: "People were wandering about in total shock, others were screaming and lying in the road. People were carrying the injured in their arms.
"I just thought we will try and get as many people in here as we can because this is carnage.
"There were so many of them. I thought good God - there's so many. "Some of the people were able to walk on the bus, others we carried on."
Mr McNally said people came from everywhere to help.
"People were coming in mini-buses, vans, jeeps and even taxi men and driving instructors. We took about 25."
Among those on board the bus were some of the Spanish students.
"We laid some on the seats. There was three or four children, some of them seemed quite badly off, bleeding from their heads, arms and legs. Their clothes were torn.
"I remember a wee small boy in the front seat who was rigid with fear. He just sat there staring but his mother was hysterical. She kept shouting over and over again: "He'll bleed to death."
The bus driver said he lifted the worst injured on board. One old woman had most of her clothes blown off "another girl seemed to have a hole in her side.
"They handed her to me and she put her arm around my neck and when I got home my hair and my uniform was all drenched in blood. I had to throw my clothes out."
He said they carried the injured into the hospital casualty department but it was so full that they had to start taking them into the outpatients' ward.
"It was crazy. There were people lying everywhere and blood everywhere like you wouldn't believe," said Mr McNally, who is married with a teenage son and daughter.
So many local people had done so much that he didn't think he was a hero.
But he added: "Usually if I saw blood I would run a mile but this just had to be done.
"It's hard to believe what people can do in these circumstances. So many ordinary people helped out. It's amazing what people can manage to do at times like this."
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/047
Published Date: 18-Aug-98
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