BATTLEFIELD OF BURNING FLESH
BATTLEFIELD OF BURNING FLESH'
EYEWITNESSES wept as they described the horror of a "battlefield of burning flesh and dead bodies".
Bodies of the murdered were still being removed from the wreckage, as stunned locals recounted the nightmare that ripped the heart and soul out of the Co Tyrone market town.
Local councillor Paddy McGowan was one of the first to arrive at the scene in Market Street.
"I saw a horrific picture of total and utter carnage. There were bodies still lying all over the street.
"It was like a battlefield of burning flesh and dead bodies, with a burst water main spraying everywhere. I helped lift six bodies out, and did all I could for some of the injured. "People - men, women and children - were lying on the road, dazed and bleeding. People were groaning, children were crying, and there was an overwhelming smell of burning flesh".
Fellow Omagh councillor and SDLP assemblyman, Joe Byrne, was also on the scene within minutes of the blast.
"What I witnessed was bodies strewn all over the street. I met a man whose wife left him to go into another shop. He never saw her again.
"He knew she was dead. He was desperately looking for his two children, as they had all been out shopping together.
"A woman saw two people who had been standing beside her just minutes beforehand, lying dead in the street. She told me how lucky she was to be alive."
Catholic and Protestant school friends, David Devlin and Ben Russell, had been in the courthouse area when they were told to evacuate towards Market Street. But instead, they escaped down Scarffe's Entry -just 200 yards away from the scene of devastation.
Fourteen-year old-David said: "I feel very lucky to be alive tonight. If we had gone on down the street, I don't know what would have happened.
His mum, Elizabeth Devlin, added: "As soon as I heard what had happened, I rushed home from work. I knew they had gone into town, and I feared the worst. "When I got home, I found them in the backyard, I was shaking, and close to collapsing. I threw my arms around the both of them, hugged them, held on to them and wouldn't let go."
Dorothy Boyle, recounted the horror of witnessing fellow shoppers being put into body bags. she added: "There were limbs lying about that had been blown off people. Everyone was running round, trying to help people."
She added: "There was a girl in a wheelchair screaming for help, who was in a bad way.
"There were people with cuts on their heads, bleeding. One young boy had half of his leg completely blown off.
"He didn't cry or anything. He was just in a complete state of shock."
Eddie Deeny, from Rathmullan, was about to go for a cup of tea when the bomb exploded.
He said: "The next thing I knew, I looked down and there were six people lying dead at my feet. They never had a chance.
"I prayed over them, and said the Last Rites, even though they were already dead".
One man told of taking a wrong turning into one of the trauma wards at Tyrone County Hospital, and the horrific scenes he witnessed.
"I've never seen anything like it in my life. There were bodies everywhere, arms and legs severed.
Pat Donaghy whose wife Marie narrowly escaped injury described the catastrophe as "like a scene out of hell".
"It was just devastation, utter devastation. There was black smoke everywhere and bodies of men, women and children lying everywhere".
RUC Casualty Bureau Tel: 01232 673371
EYEWITNESSES wept as they described the horror of a "battlefield of burning flesh and dead bodies".
Bodies of the murdered were still being removed from the wreckage, as stunned locals recounted the nightmare that ripped the heart and soul out of the Co Tyrone market town.
Local councillor Paddy McGowan was one of the first to arrive at the scene in Market Street.
"I saw a horrific picture of total and utter carnage. There were bodies still lying all over the street.
"It was like a battlefield of burning flesh and dead bodies, with a burst water main spraying everywhere. I helped lift six bodies out, and did all I could for some of the injured. "People - men, women and children - were lying on the road, dazed and bleeding. People were groaning, children were crying, and there was an overwhelming smell of burning flesh".
Fellow Omagh councillor and SDLP assemblyman, Joe Byrne, was also on the scene within minutes of the blast.
"What I witnessed was bodies strewn all over the street. I met a man whose wife left him to go into another shop. He never saw her again.
"He knew she was dead. He was desperately looking for his two children, as they had all been out shopping together.
"A woman saw two people who had been standing beside her just minutes beforehand, lying dead in the street. She told me how lucky she was to be alive."
Catholic and Protestant school friends, David Devlin and Ben Russell, had been in the courthouse area when they were told to evacuate towards Market Street. But instead, they escaped down Scarffe's Entry -just 200 yards away from the scene of devastation.
Fourteen-year old-David said: "I feel very lucky to be alive tonight. If we had gone on down the street, I don't know what would have happened.
His mum, Elizabeth Devlin, added: "As soon as I heard what had happened, I rushed home from work. I knew they had gone into town, and I feared the worst. "When I got home, I found them in the backyard, I was shaking, and close to collapsing. I threw my arms around the both of them, hugged them, held on to them and wouldn't let go."
Dorothy Boyle, recounted the horror of witnessing fellow shoppers being put into body bags. she added: "There were limbs lying about that had been blown off people. Everyone was running round, trying to help people."
She added: "There was a girl in a wheelchair screaming for help, who was in a bad way.
"There were people with cuts on their heads, bleeding. One young boy had half of his leg completely blown off.
"He didn't cry or anything. He was just in a complete state of shock."
Eddie Deeny, from Rathmullan, was about to go for a cup of tea when the bomb exploded.
He said: "The next thing I knew, I looked down and there were six people lying dead at my feet. They never had a chance.
"I prayed over them, and said the Last Rites, even though they were already dead".
One man told of taking a wrong turning into one of the trauma wards at Tyrone County Hospital, and the horrific scenes he witnessed.
"I've never seen anything like it in my life. There were bodies everywhere, arms and legs severed.
Pat Donaghy whose wife Marie narrowly escaped injury described the catastrophe as "like a scene out of hell".
"It was just devastation, utter devastation. There was black smoke everywhere and bodies of men, women and children lying everywhere".
RUC Casualty Bureau Tel: 01232 673371
Further Information
Publisher: SUNDAY LIFE
Ref: SL/005
Published Date: 16-Aug-98
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