1976 Olympia bombing

1976 Olympia bombing
Part of the Troubles
LocationWest Kensington, London, United Kingdom
Coordinates51°29′47″N 0°12′35″W / 51.49639°N 0.20972°W / 51.49639; -0.20972
Date27 March 1976 (UTC)
Attack type
Bomb
Deaths1
Injured85
PerpetratorProvisional Irish Republican Army (IRA)

The 1976 Olympia bombing was a bomb attack on 27 March 1976 carried out by the Provisional IRA at the Olympia exhibition centre in west London.[1] A 2 lb (0.91 kg) bomb exploded in a litter bin at the top of an escalator inside the centre, which at the time was crowded with 20,000 people attending the Daily Mail's Ideal Home Exhibition. 85 people were injured and 4 people lost limbs.[2] One casualty, 79-year-old Rachel Hyams, died from her injuries 21 days later.[3][4] Police said they received no coded warning from the IRA, but the Sunday Mirror in Manchester said it received a call from the Provisional IRA's “Irish Brigade” claiming responsibility.[5] Due to the outrage caused, the IRA temporarily halted its bombing campaign in Britain.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York on March 28, 1976 · Page 4". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Bombing of the 1976 Ideal Home Exhibition, 02/04/1976, Nationwide - BBC One". BBC. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  3. ^ Wharton, Ken (19 July 2013). Wasted Years, Wasted Lives Volume 1: The British Army in Northern Ireland 1975-77. Helion and Company. ISBN 9781909384552.
  4. ^ McKittrick, David (1999). Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Mainstream. ISBN 9781840185041.
  5. ^ "London Bomb Explosion Injures 80 at Exhibition Hall". The New York Times. 28 March 1976. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 May 2018.


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