(16 Jun 1996) English/Nat

The full scale of the devastation caused by the Manchester bomb blast has become clear after police Sunday took the first camera crews to the heart of the explosion.

Wrecked buildings, rubble and shattered glass are spread over a wide area in the centre of the northern English city.

More than 200 people were injured in the blast, 16 remain in hospital.

Police, who blame the I-R-A for the attack, have reopened some of the city centre to the public.

British officials are saying this is the work of the I-R-A.

Part of Manchester's central shopping area still remains cordoned off to the public.

Over 200 people were injured in the blast which also caused structural damage to the shopping centre, shattered windows half a mile away and set off several small fires.

Police are searching through the wreckage and rubble for clues to the bombers in an operation expected to last several days.

An accurate assessment of the damage won't be made for several days, but it is expected to run into hundreds of (m) millions of U-S dollars.

Saturday would have been one of the busiest days of the year for the city centre shops of Manchester, which ranks second only to London's Oxford Street in retail sales.

The usual weekend crowds were set to be swelled by children seeking last-minute Father's Day presents and an influx of 30-thousand Euro 96 soccer fans.

The police believe the I-R-A deliberately targetted innocent civilians.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"You can imagine on a fine, bright, June morning, there was tens of thousands of people in this area. This is a very busy shopping area of Manchester and it would be packed. The street as you can see there -- the pavements would be absolutely thronged with people. Many, many visitors to the city at this time of year. It was a great credit to everyone concerned that we managed to clear as larger area as we did. And how people weren't killed was an absolute miracle."
SUPERCAPTION: Colin Phillips, Assistant Chief Constable, Greater Manchester Police

Engineers are assessing whether some buildings will have to be torn down as part of a huge rebuilding operation.

A member of Britain's Royal family -- the Duchess of Kent -- visited the injured in hospital.

SOUNDBITE:
"Some of them are obviously frightened. They have been through a horrid experience (inaudible) but they are stoic and they are brave."
SUPERCAPTION: Duchess of Kent

Although the bombing bears all the hallmarks of the I-R-A, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The blast followed a telephone warning from a man with an Irish accent -- British media say it included a recognised I-R-A code word.

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