Irish tourists escaped Bali bombings unhurt

Up to a dozen Irish people were in the general Bali area during the weekend’s triple suicide bombings but escaped unhurt, it emerged today

At least 26 people died and more than 100 were injured following the atrocities in three cafes in Jimbayan Beach and Kuta on Saturday evening.

Up to 12 Irish families contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin yesterday to say that family members had been in the region but were uninjured.

Indonesian authorities were today reporting that one Irish national was among 25 people still missing but a Department spokesperson said all its citizens were accounted for.

“We had contact with 12 families over the weekend to say that they had a family member in the area but they were fine,” she said.

“An Irish consular official is currently liaising with local authorities.

“We are not aware of any Irish citizens killed, injured or missing arising from the atrocity.

“The report of an Irish person missing seems to have originated in a Jakarta newspaper but we are satisfied all Irish citizens are accounted for.”

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attacks at the two packed seafood cafes in Bali’s Jimbayan beach resort and at the Raja Cafe in the bustling tourist centre of Kuta.

They were the worst on the island since bombers struck Bali nightclubs in 2002, killing 202 people – mostly foreigners – in an attack blamed on terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.