POLICEMAN FIGHTS BACK TEARS AS BABY'S BODY IS FOUND
Policeman fights back tears as baby's body is found
A POLICEMAN with 23 years service in the Omagh area told how he clawed at the rubble and found a baby's body, the youngest victim of the blast.
He said he had to hold back the tears as he lifted the small child in his arms and placed it in body bag.
The RUC officer, who is stationed locally, told one of our reporters on Sunday, that he would never forget the sight of the child lying beside the body of a woman, who he presumed was the baby's mother.
The officer, who did not want to be named, said he arrived at the scene shortly after the explosion and the bottom of Market Street was a picture of total chaos.
"People were lying dead, injured or walking around with injuries. There was blood everywhere, it was a dreadful scene of carnage," he said.
"We got an Ulsterbus to get the walking injured taken away, and people with cars and vans stopped to take injured people away," he said.
He went on: "We started to check some of the bodies and a doctor was at the scene confirming if people were dead or not.
"A young woman and a child were lying side by side on the footpath. We presumed it was mother and child. I clawed through the debris and rubble to lift the child's body out. She cannot have been any older than 18 months. She looked just like a doll in the bricks and glass," he said.
He said that for the rest of his life, every time he closed his eyes he would see the tiny baby lying in the dirt like a discarded doll.
"The woman beside the body was also confirmed as dead," he said.
He said he then helped with the removal from Kells shop and from outside what was left of Libby's former cafe.
"I have been on the force for a long time, and have seen some terrible sights. What I saw on Saturday was the worst ever. I hope that I never have to see it again in this town or anywhere," he said.
A POLICEMAN with 23 years service in the Omagh area told how he clawed at the rubble and found a baby's body, the youngest victim of the blast.
He said he had to hold back the tears as he lifted the small child in his arms and placed it in body bag.
The RUC officer, who is stationed locally, told one of our reporters on Sunday, that he would never forget the sight of the child lying beside the body of a woman, who he presumed was the baby's mother.
The officer, who did not want to be named, said he arrived at the scene shortly after the explosion and the bottom of Market Street was a picture of total chaos.
"People were lying dead, injured or walking around with injuries. There was blood everywhere, it was a dreadful scene of carnage," he said.
"We got an Ulsterbus to get the walking injured taken away, and people with cars and vans stopped to take injured people away," he said.
He went on: "We started to check some of the bodies and a doctor was at the scene confirming if people were dead or not.
"A young woman and a child were lying side by side on the footpath. We presumed it was mother and child. I clawed through the debris and rubble to lift the child's body out. She cannot have been any older than 18 months. She looked just like a doll in the bricks and glass," he said.
He said that for the rest of his life, every time he closed his eyes he would see the tiny baby lying in the dirt like a discarded doll.
"The woman beside the body was also confirmed as dead," he said.
He said he then helped with the removal from Kells shop and from outside what was left of Libby's former cafe.
"I have been on the force for a long time, and have seen some terrible sights. What I saw on Saturday was the worst ever. I hope that I never have to see it again in this town or anywhere," he said.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0081
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
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