A paramedic who responded to the Omagh bombing has recalled the shock of not being able to identify the heads or feet of victims in body bags following the massacre.
Richard Quigley told the Omagh Bombing Inquiry that he remembers seeing dead bodies lined up in rows in a temporary morgue, stating it was a scene that “should only have been seen in a movie”.
The inquiry heard on Monday morning from first responders who attended the site following the Real IRA bombing of the Co Tyrone town in 1998.
Mr Quigley said he was on duty and was at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry that Saturday when a “call code red” alert was received.
He said as ambulances went to the scene, he set up saline drips and filled a kit bag with bandages, gauze and slings.
He told the inquiry that the roads were quieter than usual and said he was “stressed by not knowing what to expect”.
It was the first time he had attended an explosion.
He said when they arrived at Market Street in the Co Tyrone town that “no patients were to be seen”.
He added: “It was oddly quiet. No screaming of patients; evidence of that explosion and the smell.
“I remember the smell of beer was strong at the bomb site as it flowed down the street from the remains of the bar opposite.”
He told the inquiry that they moved into the “body recovery stage”, and he had to source additional body bags from fire service and military as there was only a limited number in each ambulance.
He said: “The body bags with the remains of the dead had been moved into shops away from eyes and cameras.”
After bodies were placed into the body bags, Mr Quigley said he physically checked them to identify the head from the feet so they could be put on stretchers in the correct way.
He said: “What shocked me was not being able to identify the head or the feet of the patients.
“Clearly other items were inside the bags.
“It was the same with all the bags I touched.
“I got frustrated and kicked a piece of shrapnel. I got told off by a police officer. Evidence.”
Mr Quigley said the ambulances drove the bodies to a temporary morgue which had been set up in a gym in an army barracks.
He said: “I recall seeing the number of body bags laid out and each had its own area. All in rows.
“The size of the gym and the number of the body bags on the floor was something that that should only have been seen in a movie.”
Mr Quigley told the inquiry that as he returned to Omagh ambulance station, he recalled it was his half-sister’s birthday and she had planned to go into the town.
He said: “Panic set in and I tried to get a phone signal.”
He said he discovered that his family members had delayed the trip.
Mr Quigley added: “On a personal note I have yet to walk around Market Street or to the peace garden.
“I can still remember the smell of the beer from the street corner.
“Will I ever walk through Galloway, where the bodies had laid end to end? Probably never.
“Should I? Maybe I would get closure.
“I will never forget that day as it is my sister’s birthday and will always trigger memories.”
