STUNNED SILENCE AS INQUEST SEES VIDEOS OF UNBELIEVABLE SCENE
Stunned silence as inquest sees videos of 'unbelievable' scene
RELATIVES of those who died in the 300lb explosion in Market Street two years ago were ushered out of public view during the second day of the Omagh inquest, while three separate amateur videos of the devastation caused to the town centre were shown.
While some watched the harrowing scenes in the seclusion of the family room, others found the prospect of seeing the full colour footage too much to bear and left the precincts of the Coroner's Court.
The videos were taken by members of the public, and came into the possession of the police afterwards, the inquest was told.
Prior to the viewing, the Coroner, Mr. John Leckey, said he thought it important to show the videos to allow the legal representatives to see the amount of debris and the resultant difficulties that presented for those collating evidence.
While snippets of the videos had been used in news coverage in the days and weeks after the bombing, it was the first time that many of those attending the inquest saw them in full.
The second of the videos was particularly graphic, and was taken just two minutes after the detonation.
In it those watching could hear the person recording talk to himself in disbelief.
"You just would not believe this, you just would not believe what has f---ing happened. You would not believe the carnage that happened here. You would not f---ing believe it," the voice behind the camera repeated over and over again.
"This is f---ing ridiculous man. This is f---king madness. This is just unbelievable man. I have never seen anything like it in my f---ing life," the video amateur said over the voices of people shouting for help and screaming in pain and shock.
In the stunned silence after the videos were shown, Mr. Leckey said the two significant points he found from the video evidence was that it was shot as the recorder walked up the street towards the Courthouse.
The second, he said, was that it clearly showed that a water main had burst as a result of the explosion and people were having to wade through water that was flowing quite freely.
"We will hear more about that later. That is of some significance as to how police dealt with the aftermath of the situation in relation to the recovery of bodies," he said.
A fourth video was also shown, which the coroner explained showed what police believed to be the route the bombers took on entering Omagh and parking the car bomb in town.
Maps
Immediately prior and subsequent to the video evidence, a mapping officer, Mr. John Kevin Edgar, presented a series of maps to the hearing.
On one he had pinpointed various pieces of metal debris, some of which was believed to have come from the car bomb. On it were also mapped a number of items marked with an 'F', representing pieces of flesh, which, he said, he had been requested to do by Scenes of Crime staff and the officers in charge.
Another showed 200-yard and 400-yard circles, with the focal point as the Courthouse.
He told the hearing that the site of the bomb was 380 yards from the centre of the courthouse. He also said that the 200-yard line marked, an area in High Street, adjacent to the Royal Arms Hotel. During cross-examination he was asked' to move the central point of his calculations to the first car park space on the left-hand-side looking down High Street, adjacent to the front of the First Trust Bank.
From that point he calculated that the 400-yard line was just beyond the junction of Market Street with Dublin Road.
He told the inquest that the bonnet of the car bomb had been found on the flat roof of a building on the left-hand-side 71 yards from the crater left by the bomb.
In response to questions from Mr. Stephen Ritchie, who appeared for the RUC chief constable, the officer said that police at the scene, who were working their way down the street clearing the scene, got to within 39 yards of the bomb when it exploded.
Under further questioning by the Coroner, Mr. Edgar told the hearing that his calculations had been made "as the crow flies" and did not take into consideration the undulations along High Street and Market Street, which would have added a slightly greater distance to the calculations.
RELATIVES of those who died in the 300lb explosion in Market Street two years ago were ushered out of public view during the second day of the Omagh inquest, while three separate amateur videos of the devastation caused to the town centre were shown.
While some watched the harrowing scenes in the seclusion of the family room, others found the prospect of seeing the full colour footage too much to bear and left the precincts of the Coroner's Court.
The videos were taken by members of the public, and came into the possession of the police afterwards, the inquest was told.
Prior to the viewing, the Coroner, Mr. John Leckey, said he thought it important to show the videos to allow the legal representatives to see the amount of debris and the resultant difficulties that presented for those collating evidence.
While snippets of the videos had been used in news coverage in the days and weeks after the bombing, it was the first time that many of those attending the inquest saw them in full.
The second of the videos was particularly graphic, and was taken just two minutes after the detonation.
In it those watching could hear the person recording talk to himself in disbelief.
"You just would not believe this, you just would not believe what has f---ing happened. You would not believe the carnage that happened here. You would not f---ing believe it," the voice behind the camera repeated over and over again.
"This is f---ing ridiculous man. This is f---king madness. This is just unbelievable man. I have never seen anything like it in my f---ing life," the video amateur said over the voices of people shouting for help and screaming in pain and shock.
In the stunned silence after the videos were shown, Mr. Leckey said the two significant points he found from the video evidence was that it was shot as the recorder walked up the street towards the Courthouse.
The second, he said, was that it clearly showed that a water main had burst as a result of the explosion and people were having to wade through water that was flowing quite freely.
"We will hear more about that later. That is of some significance as to how police dealt with the aftermath of the situation in relation to the recovery of bodies," he said.
A fourth video was also shown, which the coroner explained showed what police believed to be the route the bombers took on entering Omagh and parking the car bomb in town.
Maps
Immediately prior and subsequent to the video evidence, a mapping officer, Mr. John Kevin Edgar, presented a series of maps to the hearing.
On one he had pinpointed various pieces of metal debris, some of which was believed to have come from the car bomb. On it were also mapped a number of items marked with an 'F', representing pieces of flesh, which, he said, he had been requested to do by Scenes of Crime staff and the officers in charge.
Another showed 200-yard and 400-yard circles, with the focal point as the Courthouse.
He told the hearing that the site of the bomb was 380 yards from the centre of the courthouse. He also said that the 200-yard line marked, an area in High Street, adjacent to the Royal Arms Hotel. During cross-examination he was asked' to move the central point of his calculations to the first car park space on the left-hand-side looking down High Street, adjacent to the front of the First Trust Bank.
From that point he calculated that the 400-yard line was just beyond the junction of Market Street with Dublin Road.
He told the inquest that the bonnet of the car bomb had been found on the flat roof of a building on the left-hand-side 71 yards from the crater left by the bomb.
In response to questions from Mr. Stephen Ritchie, who appeared for the RUC chief constable, the officer said that police at the scene, who were working their way down the street clearing the scene, got to within 39 yards of the bomb when it exploded.
Under further questioning by the Coroner, Mr. Edgar told the hearing that his calculations had been made "as the crow flies" and did not take into consideration the undulations along High Street and Market Street, which would have added a slightly greater distance to the calculations.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1525
Published Date: 14-Sep-00
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