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Special Report Transcript Episode 4, Section 2, Time 01:19

10:15 pm, June14 1986. A powerful car bomb explodes in front of the Why not Bar, a popular Durban nightspot. Three people die, 67 are injured. Helen Kearney was the barmaid. // There was this enormous explosion. What I remember is seeing flashing lights of all colours: red, blue, green and a horrendous noise that actually went right down into your body. But there was like a vacuum after that, there was silence and then all of a sudden there was this swishing sound and everything just went bezerk. I don’t know, when I spoke to the bomb squad afterwards they told me it’s an impact, there is a fraction of a second or two seconds, before it actually takes everything away in its find. It happened so fast and you … actually we didn’t know what had happened. It was so tremendous, that for the moment you don’t know what … and then we saw it in its full colours. It was a massive bloodbath with flesh and blood dripping from the walls. I remember seeing half a head, on an optic. I remember smelling burning flesh. And dragging people out. There were people walking round in circles, they had splinters of glass, enormous, through their heads, through their backs, they didn’t know what had happened. One minute they’re enjoying a beer and laughing to the music, and the next minute there was this chaos. // It has lived with me for about ten years now; I still have nightmares. Because you wake up and you see this in front of you again.

Notes: Scene of blast; TRC testimony: Helen Kearney

References select each tab to search for references

Hearing Transcripts TRC Final Report TRC Victims Glossary
ABOOBAKER ISMAIL,ERNEST LEKOTA PULE,LESTER DUMAKUDE,JOHANNES MOLEFE (MNISI),ROBERT JOHN McBRIDE,ZAHRAH NARKEDIAN,EDWARD ALLAN PIERCE,MARCELL TREVOR ANDREWS,MATTHEW LECORDIER AM7109/97,AM7139/97,AM7679/97,AM7096/97,AM7032/97,AM4028/96,AM4008/96,AM7696/97,AM4026/97 GRANTED
DURBAN Quinn Family, Joyce Mananki Siphe, H Kerney, Johannes Raseko, David Mhlapo, Dumisani Phungula and Mrs Phungula, Yusuf Haffajee, Mamela Mayi, Silelane Nicholas Ndedelwa, Trifina Jokweni
 
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