Explosions at the Silent Valley reservoir and at another pipe link crossing the Clady river, threaten the water supply to Belfast.
This is the second time that the Silent Valley reservoir has been hit within a week and British troops have been sent to guard water and electricity installations.
Sean Duignan reports from the scene of the explosion and asks who was responsible. Initially the IRA were blamed for the attacks, but it was later established that Loyalist extremists had carried out the explosions.
Reporter Ronnie Turner who is at the site of the explosion says that the people of Belfast are now experiencing this crisis in a "tangible and really uncomfortable way". The water shortage is impacting their everyday lives and is reaching crisis proportions.
Belfast city needs 26 million gallons of water a day and this resource has now been cut by half. The police have been in contact with the army about future security of such vital resources. The police have asked householders and business owners to ration their water usage, but some have no water to ration.
The IRA has denied any association with the explosion and the belief of the involvement of protestant extremists is gaining ground in Belfast. The speculation is that the protestant extremists may be trying to weaken Captain Terence O'Neill's position and at the same time discredit the civil rights movement.
| Title: | Pipeline Blown Up |
| Clip Duration: | 00:01:20 |
| Material Type: | Video |
| Clip Title: | Who Are The Saboteurs? |
| Series Title: | RTÉ News |
| Information: | RTÉ News reports on the water shortages in Belfast following a pipeline explosion broadcast on 24 April 1969. |
| Local Keywords: | Northern Ireland 1969, Growing Tension, Silent Valley Resevoir, Clady River, Water Supply, Bomb Explosion, Seán Duignan, Ronnie Turner, Belfast, IRA, Captain Terence O'Neill |
| Coverage: | Ireland, Belfast |
| Genre: | News |
| Topic: | Wars and Conflict |
| Provider: | RTÉ |
| Contributor(s): | Seán Duignan (Reporter) |
| Publisher: | RTÉ |
| First Broadcast Channel: | RTÉ |
| Production Year: | 1969 |
| Country of Production: | Ireland |
| Original Identifier: | N1936/0069E |
| IPR Restrictions: | Rights Reserved - Free Access |
| Rights, Terms and Conditions: | Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Archives. If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us. RTÉ Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us. |
| Item Type: | part/extract |
| Colour: | Black and White |
| Sound: | Mono |
| Aspect Ratio: | 4:3 |
| Language: | English (eng) |
