EDITH WHITE kept repeating: "They are not coming home, they are not coming home." Her husband Frederick and son Brian had been shopping in the city centre and were among the dead.

Earlier that day, the family had returned from holiday in Scotland in time for Brian to begin a new job with Omagh Council's horticultural department.

A close friend said last night: "We heard the bang. I came out of the house and Edith was coming out almost immediately. She said 'Fred and Brian have just left, they couldn't have got there yet', but they had just parked their car and walked into the path of the bomb."

Mrs White had spent a frantic night calling hospitals for news only to discover at 10.30 am yesterday that both men had died.

The blast also claimed the lives of two best friends who worked in the same charity shop. Lorraine Wilson, 15, and Samantha McFarland, 17, both from Omagh, had been working in the Oxfam shop near the courthouse when they were told to leave the building because of the bomb scare. Believing they were walking to safety, they strolled down Market Street straight into the path of the bomb.

Lorraine's parents spent Saturday night driving round the town searching for her, while other family members took it in turns to wait for news at the Omagh Leisure Centre, where they were joined by dozens of other relatives clinging to hope.

Yesterday, Godfrey Wilson was already making arrangements for his daughter's funeral. "Lorraine had a heart of gold," he said from his bungalow on a Protestant estate on the edge of town. "She had been working in the Oxfam shop with Samantha for two or three weeks. Samantha had been working at the shop a little longer. They would do anything for anybody."

Another of the victims, Esther Gibson, had just become engaged and was looking forward both to her own wedding next July and to that of her sister next month, when she would have been a brides maid. Miss Gibson, a clothing factory worker

in her late twenties, had been in Omagh for final holiday shopping before returning to work today. She was also a Sunday school teacher for the Rev Ian Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church, and Mr Paisley said last night: "She was a very dedicated Christian and a fine children's worker. She was a fine girl with a good future. This is terrible for the children and the congregation."

Julie Hughes, 21, home for the holidays from Dundee University, was working at a photographic developers when the shop was evacuated. Like so many others, she ran into the full force of the blast.

Other shop workers among the victims included Geraldine Breslin, 35, Ann McCoombe, 48, and Veda Short, 46, who were on a break from their work at Watterson's clothes shop when they died. Mrs Breslin, a Roman Catholic with a 14-year-old son, was described by her local priest as "a beautiful woman who was the salt of the earth". Mrs McCoombe's husband Stanley and son Clive were in Scotland when news of the bomb broke. They caught the first ferry back to learn that she had died.

Adrian Gallagher, 21, a car body worker, was in the town centre with his best friend buying new boots for work and a pair of jeans to wear at a disco that night. His father, Michael, did not feel strong enough to go to the morgue when police asked him to identify the body of his only son - he had already lost his younger brother in a terrorist ambush 14 years ago.

James Barker, 12, was visiting with a group of Spanish students and his friends, Sean McLoughlin,12, and Oran Doherty, who were also killed in the blast. His mother, Donna-Maria, said he had been so excited about the trip he could not eat his breakfast and had rushed off before she could say goodbye.

His had family moved to Ireland from Surrey ten months ago in search of a better quality of life. Sean, was an altar boy at St Mary's Oratory where Father Charles Keaney, said his main memory was his "happy, smiling face."

Breda Devine, from the tiny community of Aughabrack, was an 18-month-old toddler out shopping with her mother for a wedding present. Her father was faced with telling his three other children that their sister was dead and their mother was fighting for her life.

Alan Radford, 17, was one of the last to be identified and his family had an agonising wait before they finally learnt he was dead. Last night, his brother, Paul, said: "It wasn't official until we went to the morgue and saw his body."

THE VICTIMS

All but one of the 28 people who died have been identified, including 14 women, five men, four boys and four girls. The official casualty list will be released today. Those named so far include:

Lorraine Wilson, 15, from Omagh
Samantha McFarland, 17, from Omagh
Brian McCrorry, in his 40s, from Omagh
Gareth Conway, 19, from Carrickmore
Julie Hughes, 21, from Omagh
Brenda Logue, 17, from Carrickmore
Elizabeth Rush, 57, from Omagh
Geraldine Breslin, 35, from Omagh
Mary Grimes, 65, from Beragh
Avril Monaghan, 30, from Aughadarra
Maura Monaghan, 20 months, of Aughadarra
Adrian Gallagher, 21, from Omagh
Breda Devine, 18 months, of Aughabrack
Veda Short, 46, from Gortiaclare
Philomena Skelton, 39, from Drumquin
Ann McCoombe, 48, of Omagh
Frederick White, 60s, from Omagh
Brian White, 27, from Omagh
Esther Gibson, late 20s, from Beragh
Oran Doherty, 8, of Buncrana, Co Donegal
Sean McCloughlin, 12, of Buncrana
James Barker, 12, from Buncrana
Fernando Blasco, 12, from Madrid
Rosio Abad, 20s, from Madrid