Marathon mayhem

An Irishman who competed in yesterday’s ill-fated Boston marathon was deeply traumatised last night by the explosions that left two dead and dozens injured and from which his wife had a lucky escape.

Robert Whyte, a member of the Kenmare Triathlon Club, said his wife Andrea had been standing outside the shop where one of the explosions occurred 20 minutes earlier.

“She was watching the race from outside the shop. I was delayed meeting up with her because my legs started to cramp badly when I finished and I went to the medical tent. She was too-ing and fro-ing looking for me. She went back to the spot twice. I’m upset now because I’m thinking of where she was standing,” Robert said.

The Kerry man, pictured below right, whose family owns Whyte’s Centra shops in Kenmare and Castleisland, struggled to hold back tears. His achievement of a personal best was rendered meaningless by the loss of life, he said, adding that he was concerned for the safety of the 122 Irish who took part. Seventeen were from Dublin, three from Cork, two from Waterford, five from Galway, and one from Kilkenny.

“I was with these people who were injured. We were all bused in those yellow school buses to a high school near the starting line. There was a fabulous atmosphere, a great buzz. Everyone was in great form. Whoever planted these bombs did it to achieve maximum effect, where they knew a crowd would gather,” said Robert.

Bobby Hilliard from Clonakilty, Co Cork, said he had paused at the bend where the blasts occurred — 500m from the finish line — not long before the explosions took place.

“I paused at the bend to take in the straight run to the finish line. When I got there, I leant against a fence to catch my breath and then boom, there was smoke, chaos. Initially I thought it was fireworks or a gas explosion. But then I saw the panic set in.”

He said police and emergency services reacted quickly and moved people on. He said those behind the blasts “could not be called human beings”. “I mean they planted those bombs to target people who had nothing left in the tank after giving the marathon their all. Their families were standing there waiting to cheer them on. It was heart-breaking to see.” Mr Hilliard had travelled to take part in the Boston Marathon last Thursday with 18 other Irish.

Prof Neil Collins, who lectures at University College Cork, said he had confirmed that five of his students, in Boston as interns at Massachusetts State Assembly, were all safe. They had been close to the finish line of the world’s oldest marathon.

Last night there were Twitter reports of people with missing limbs and bloodied heads and of stopped runners suffering from hypothermia. There were also pictures of ambulances lined up for blocks around the affected area and of increased police presence in Times Square, New York City. There were also reports of marathon runners heading straight to Massachusetts State Hospital to give blood.

President Barack Obama was briefed by his homeland security adviser and senior members of his staff following the dual explosions.

Obama spoke with Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, the official said, and directed his administration to provide necessary assistance in the investigation and response.

American news networks were last night reporting that a small homemade bomb was the preliminary cause of explosion at the marathon. Police were reported to be searching for other devices, though other reports claimed that additional devices had been found and defused.