A FAMILY HAUNTED BY EVIL
A FAMILY HAUNTED BY EVIL
By MARK DOWDNEY
Foreign Editor
Dad survived Basque blast
THE father of 12-year-old Omagh victim Fernando Blasco himself survived a terrorist bomb blast, it was revealed yesterday.
Manuel Blasco was driving-through Madrid when a car bomb planted by Basque separatists exploded in 1992. He was badly cut by flying glass.
And as he flew from Spain to collect Fernando's body a grieving relative commented: "They say lightning never strikes twice - but it did to us."
Fernando and his sister Lucrecia. 14, were among 26 children on an exchange visit, staying with families in Donegal in the Irish Republic to learn English.
The boy died along with 23-year-old student Rocio Abad a helper with the party.
Lucrecia was one of 11 Spanish children and another helper who were injured - four of them seriously.
Relatives said they had been warned she will need plastic surgery later in life to repair all the damage.
The brother and sister had visited Ireland on a similar summer course last year.
At Fernando's school his PT teacher Pedro Pintado said: "He was a lively boy with a great character and very popular among his mates."
The Spanish group, who all came from Madrid, had crossed the border on a day trip to visit Omagh because of its carnival. Helper Rocio had gone to Ireland to work with the children during her summer holidays from university, where she was a biology student.
She lived in Madrid with her parents and two older sisters.
Her friend Begonia Dorado, who belonged to the same church youth club, said: "She always spread happiness to everyone.
"She was full of life, open and extrovert.
"Her death was really bad luck. She went on the trip because it was her day off and because Omagh was in carnival."
Miguel Yoldi, 14, told how he and several others in the party were saved because they had spotted a public playground.
He said: "We walked to it 200 yards away from the others.
"We'd only been there 10 minutes when the bomb went off. We cowered down, holding each other.
"A friend and I went to see what had happened. We saw a mountain of bodies and blood everywhere.
Then there was another warning of a bomb near the playground so we ran to a park and hid under the trees until we got the all clear."
Three boys from the border town of Buncrana - where the Spanish party were staying - were also killed.
The town's curate Fr Charlie Creaney said: "It is only now beginning to sink in here.
"You can feel the grief in the streets.
"Groups of neighbours are standing on their doorsteps and knots of children who would normally be laughing are standing blank. It's devastating."
He said the rest of the Spanish party were "distraught, we have had counsellors in talking to them".
He added: "Everybody is supporting them and behind them.
"They have asked to stay together to support each other but it is difficult for them to know what is going on because they are only beginning to learn English."
Fr Creaney explained the town's exchange connection with Spain had been going on for more than 10 years.
He said: "They are not strangers - they are like a second family to many people in this parish.
"For that reason it's a double grief we are experiencing now.
"Our own children are dead and our visiting friends are caught up in this too.
"It's just beyond words, the whole thing."
Spain's deputy Prime Minister Francisco Alvarez Cascos flew to Omagh to support the parents of the dead and injured.
Many families had travelled to the town over the weekend.
He ordered two military planes to bring home the bodies and eight of the injured children well enough to travel - including Lucrecia Blasco.
Mr Cascos said of the Blasco family's tragedy: "A trauma as deep as this, when a family has twice been the victim of terrorism, can only be helped by the solidarity of others."
He went on: "The bombing was a crime against humanity, a demonstration of madness and savagery which characterises certain fanatical minorities.
"The phenomenon of terrorism is outside common sense, beyond all logic."
The blast stunned Spain, which sends 40,000 schoolchildren to Ireland each summer to learn English, and get to know the country on field trips throughout the republic and Ulster.
The tragedy is expected to cause a major slump in the number of Spanish children travelling to Ireland on the courses.
The republic is the second most popular destination after Britain and is the preferred country for students under 16.
By MARK DOWDNEY
Foreign Editor
Dad survived Basque blast
THE father of 12-year-old Omagh victim Fernando Blasco himself survived a terrorist bomb blast, it was revealed yesterday.
Manuel Blasco was driving-through Madrid when a car bomb planted by Basque separatists exploded in 1992. He was badly cut by flying glass.
And as he flew from Spain to collect Fernando's body a grieving relative commented: "They say lightning never strikes twice - but it did to us."
Fernando and his sister Lucrecia. 14, were among 26 children on an exchange visit, staying with families in Donegal in the Irish Republic to learn English.
The boy died along with 23-year-old student Rocio Abad a helper with the party.
Lucrecia was one of 11 Spanish children and another helper who were injured - four of them seriously.
Relatives said they had been warned she will need plastic surgery later in life to repair all the damage.
The brother and sister had visited Ireland on a similar summer course last year.
At Fernando's school his PT teacher Pedro Pintado said: "He was a lively boy with a great character and very popular among his mates."
The Spanish group, who all came from Madrid, had crossed the border on a day trip to visit Omagh because of its carnival. Helper Rocio had gone to Ireland to work with the children during her summer holidays from university, where she was a biology student.
She lived in Madrid with her parents and two older sisters.
Her friend Begonia Dorado, who belonged to the same church youth club, said: "She always spread happiness to everyone.
"She was full of life, open and extrovert.
"Her death was really bad luck. She went on the trip because it was her day off and because Omagh was in carnival."
Miguel Yoldi, 14, told how he and several others in the party were saved because they had spotted a public playground.
He said: "We walked to it 200 yards away from the others.
"We'd only been there 10 minutes when the bomb went off. We cowered down, holding each other.
"A friend and I went to see what had happened. We saw a mountain of bodies and blood everywhere.
Then there was another warning of a bomb near the playground so we ran to a park and hid under the trees until we got the all clear."
Three boys from the border town of Buncrana - where the Spanish party were staying - were also killed.
The town's curate Fr Charlie Creaney said: "It is only now beginning to sink in here.
"You can feel the grief in the streets.
"Groups of neighbours are standing on their doorsteps and knots of children who would normally be laughing are standing blank. It's devastating."
He said the rest of the Spanish party were "distraught, we have had counsellors in talking to them".
He added: "Everybody is supporting them and behind them.
"They have asked to stay together to support each other but it is difficult for them to know what is going on because they are only beginning to learn English."
Fr Creaney explained the town's exchange connection with Spain had been going on for more than 10 years.
He said: "They are not strangers - they are like a second family to many people in this parish.
"For that reason it's a double grief we are experiencing now.
"Our own children are dead and our visiting friends are caught up in this too.
"It's just beyond words, the whole thing."
Spain's deputy Prime Minister Francisco Alvarez Cascos flew to Omagh to support the parents of the dead and injured.
Many families had travelled to the town over the weekend.
He ordered two military planes to bring home the bodies and eight of the injured children well enough to travel - including Lucrecia Blasco.
Mr Cascos said of the Blasco family's tragedy: "A trauma as deep as this, when a family has twice been the victim of terrorism, can only be helped by the solidarity of others."
He went on: "The bombing was a crime against humanity, a demonstration of madness and savagery which characterises certain fanatical minorities.
"The phenomenon of terrorism is outside common sense, beyond all logic."
The blast stunned Spain, which sends 40,000 schoolchildren to Ireland each summer to learn English, and get to know the country on field trips throughout the republic and Ulster.
The tragedy is expected to cause a major slump in the number of Spanish children travelling to Ireland on the courses.
The republic is the second most popular destination after Britain and is the preferred country for students under 16.
Further Information
Publisher: THE MIRROR
Ref: TM/036
Published Date: 18-Aug-98
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