Relatives of the Omagh dead today relived the aftermath of the blast when footage of the scene was played at the inquest into the deaths. A clergyman said the bereaved experienced their most difficult moment of the hearing so far when it was shown unedited amateur video tapes of the minutes following the explosion. A number of relatives left the court and most watched from a family room. The inquest heard that the bomb exploded 200 yards away from the place indicated by the bombers in telephone warnings.
The inquest earlier heard recordings of two women relaying the warning calls for the explosion to the RUC in the minutes leading up to the blast. Coroner, John Leckey, heard the tapes of 999 calls made by an Ulster Television newsroom assistant and a Samaritans volunteer. Shortly afterwards the bomb exploded killing 29 people.
Police handling of terrorist warnings for the Omagh bomb atrocity was expected to come under renewed focus again as the inquests into the deaths enters its second day. More RUC officers are to enter the witness box at the hearing in Omagh, County Tyrone, to detail how they responded to three telephoned statements that gave conflicting information about where the bomb was planted and when it was due to explode.
The blast on August 15, 1998, claimed the lives of 29 people, among them a woman heavily pregnant with twins, in the worst single terrorist attack in 30 years of troubles in Northern Ireland. The inquest is being conducted in Omagh Leisure Centre.
Yesterday, there were suggestions from lawyers for some of the bereaved families that the crowds of people in the town centre should have been moved much further out of the danger zone. They repeatedly challenged police witnesses on how they recorded and passed on the messages down the line.
Warnings about the bomb were received at around 2.30pm, and it exploded at approximately 3.10pm. The terrorist caller was reported as claiming that it was at or near the courthouse, or alternatively, 200 yards from the building. In the event, it exploded 500 yards away, scything through a large crowd. One of the bereaved last night expressed surprise at the tough questioning of junior police officers.
Stanley McCombe, who lost his wife Ann, said: "The police are not on trial here. The people who planted the bomb should be facing questioning." However, Michael Gallagher, whose son Adrian was killed, said that questions needed to be answered. The inquest is set to last around four weeks.
