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Omagh 'devastated' by fatal blaze
14.11.07
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FIREFIGHTERS in Omagh
will resume their search this morning of the
burnt-out house where an entire family died in what
was the North's worst domestic
fire. |
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Five bodies were found
yesterday in the debris of the house in Lammy
Crescent in the County Tyrone town. It is understood
the bodies were that of two adults and three
children.
Arthur McElhill, his partner Lorraine McGovern and
their five children, are all believed to have
perished in the blaze.
The eldest of the five children, |
Caroline, 13, attended
the nearby Sacred Heart College. The other four
children were Sean, 7, Bellina, 4, Clodagh, 19
months and James, who was just nine months old.
Deputy chief fire officer Louis Jones said the five
bodies were discovered in an upstairs bedrooms.
"There are two further persons unaccounted for at
this stage and our investigations are ongoing," he
said.
The search was scaled down last night on the advice
of the police who have launched an investigation
into the tragedy. |
Many local
emergency services personnel said it was the most
devastating incident they had attended since the Omagh bomb atrocity nearly ten years ago.
Among those who visited the scene yesterday was Dr.
Josephine Deehan, a SDLP member of Omagh
District Council. Dr. Deehan, a GP who has family members
in Greencastle and who is a regular visitor to
Inishowen, said the community in Omagh was "stunned"
by the immensity of the tragedy. |
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"The mood in Omagh is
very sombre. It's a tragedy of unparalleled
proportions, a family wiped out in the most
traumatic of circumstances.
"Neighbours are standing round in small groups, some
of them in tears," she said. |
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Parish priest Monsignor
Joseph Donnelly, who is a former parish priest of
Muff, said there was "disbelief and shock" in the
close-knit community.
"We can hardly find the words to describe what has
happened. It's hard to come to terms with the
tragedy - that a family that was alive and well this
time yesterday is now gone," he said. |
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