Injured bomb victims begin telling their stories at Omagh inquiry

THE OMAGH Bombing Inquiry today began hearing evidence from some of those who were at the scene of the explosion and witnessed the carnage which engulfed Market Street in the town after 3.10pm on August 15, 1998.

More than 200 people were seriously injured as a result of the blast which claimed the lives of 31 people.

Pen-portraits of those who were killed have been taking place during the past three weeks. Only one now remains to be completed, that of 12 year-old James Barker.

The inquiry has now moved on to its next stage, where the survivors and many of those who provided assistance to the dying and injured.

Four of those who were on Market Street that day gave evidence at the Inquiry this morning.

Valerie Hamilton sustained a serious eye injured as a result of shrapnel. She told the inquiry of seeing a flash and then experiencing the ‘immense heat’ which followed.

“I put my hands up to the side of my head and I shouted stop. The bomb had exploded,” she said in her statement which was read out by her legal representative.

“All that I could see was smoke and debris everywhere. There was a burnt-out car opposite. All I could see was one single person – a girl standing in the middle of the road.

“The next thing I knew I was sitting in Shop Electric on the pavement in the foetal position with my hands still up at the side of my head. I don’t know how I got there.

“When I opened my eyes all that I could see was the smoke and debris everywhere and the smell of burning. There was a burnt out car opposite me.”

Valerie said that she had just sat on the street, and heard the ‘crying and screams’ of the people. She said she knew that what had happened was bad, and was desperately searching for relatives who she believed had been in the town centre.

“I saw another niece, laying on the bonnet of a car with a piece of metal sticking out of her back,” she added.

She went on to speak about the long-term impact of the bombing on both her and her family. She added that there were many nights when she cried herself to sleep, she was reluctant to leave her home for five years and still suffered from physical and mental injuries.

“I am wary when in crowds. I will work out in my head where my nearest exits are as I need to know that I have an escape route. I have a constant fear of dying. I exacerbate everything I go to do. I just can’t go and do it. I have myself worked up to a point of panic.”