Omagh prepares to remember bomb victims and familes 20 years on
Commemoration to include 32 bell chimes
Omagh will fall silent today (Wednesday) as a mark of respect for the victims and families of the town’s bomb atrocity exactly 20 years ago.
A special commemoration begins at 2.55 at the site of the blast in Market Street.
A total of 32 bells will ring out to remember the 29 victims including a woman pregnant with twins. The extra chime is for victims of terror attacks all over the world.
Then at 3.10 the time the bomb exploded on August 15, 1998 the chimes will stop and there will be a respectful silence.
The commemoration, which follows Sunday's memorial service (pictured) will also include a short ceremony led by the Omagh Churches Forum.
Those attending will be given a flower petal to scatter into a river or pond near the memorial garden.
The 300lb bomb was the deadliest single atrocity of the Troubles.
A splinter group opposed to the peace process, the Real IRA, was blamed for the carnage.
Twenty years on, no-one has been convicted for the murder of the 31 innocents.
The victims included Protestants and Catholics, tourists from Spain and others on a day trip from the Republic.
More than 200 were also injured in the blast.