A paramedic who helped recover the remains of the victims of the 1998 Omagh bombing has described how he and his colleagues brought so many bodies to the temporary morgue, it was like “something that should only have been seen in a movie.”
Giving evidence to the inquiry into the Omagh bombing on Monday, Richard Quigley described how he and his colleagues moved their ambulances to a car park near the site of the explosion on Market Street, and stacked body bags and stretchers ready to recover the bodies of the victims.
A total of 31 people, including unborn twins, were killed when the dissident republican bomb exploded in the centre of the Co Tyrone town on August 15th, 1998.
The inquiry, which was ordered by the UK government to examine whether the atrocity could reasonably have been prevented by British state authorities, is taking place at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh.
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“The body bags with the remains of the dead had been moved into shops, away from eyes and cameras,” Mr Quigley said.
“We had used all the bags we had. We had to source whatever we could from the fire service and the military.
“Bodies had been moved into the alleyway from Market Street, and then to the car park.
“Each vehicle was loaded with three to four body bags.
“I was asked to go into Market Street through the walkway and left and into a shop. There were more body bags inside the shop,” he said.
“I had a scoop stretcher ... I recall the body bags being inside a clothes/material shop, I physically checked the body bags to see if I could identify which end was the head or legs, all preparation for using a scoop [stretcher], as it is designed as having a head end and a leg end.
“What shocked me was not being able to clearly identify either the head or the feet of the patients. Clearly all their items were inside the bag,” he said.
“It was the same with all the bags I had touched, guessing which end was appropriate, I prepared the scoop.
“Help was needed to remove the remains into the volunteer ambulance on Market Street.
“I got frustrated and kicked a piece of shrapnel, and got told off by a police officer. Evidence,” Mr Quigley said. When the paramedic returned to the car park, all the ambulances had been loaded with bodies. “My vehicle had four on board,” he said.
“We then drove in convoy, with lights and silently, to the temporary morgue set up in the army camp gymnasium.
“I remember seeing the number of body bags laid out, and each had its own area, all in rows, with a chair at the end.
“The size of the gym and the number of body bags on the floor was something that should only have been seen in a movie,” he said.
On Monday the inquiry also heard from Victor Barker – whose 12-year-old son James was among the victims of the atrocity – who said those who lost loved ones had been “woefully let down by a very poorly conducted police investigation”.
He said his son “had his life taken away from him in the most evil and barbaric fashion, and he was robbed of his bright and happy future.
“I sometimes doubt whether he has the same human rights as the terrorists.
“We should all remember that pain has no nationality and no borders, but neither does the love of the human heart.”
Concluding Monday’s proceedings, lead counsel to the inquiry, Paul Greaney KC said that Tracey Devine, who was seriously injured in the bombing and whose 20-month-old daughter, Breda, was killed, died on Saturday.
The inquiry will resume on Tuesday but with altered hours so it will not sit during Ms Devine’s funeral.
