Police in Strabane, Co Tyrone, yesterday released the names of the two motorcyclists who were killed when their bikes crashed into the side of a lorry on the A5 road between Strabane and Newtownstewart on Tuesday evening.
Colin Thornton (43) and Tony Thompson (38) both came from Newtownstewart and were members of a local motorcycle club.
They were killed instantly when they crashed into the right-rear side of a lorry which had justpulled out of a quarry in the townland of Milltown.
Skid marks at the scene indicated the two motorcyclists braked and tried unsuccessfully to avoid colliding with the lorry.
At the time of the accident, the road surface was dry and it was a sunny evening.
One of the first people on the scene, Newtownstewart Parish Priest Fr Stephen Kearney, said it was a horrific sight.
"It was terrible, something people should never have to see. I had just passed the two men about half an hour earlier on the same road as I travelled to the parochial house. I knew them and in a way I felt envious of them because there they were riding their bikes on a lovely sunny evening.
"Shortly after I arrived in the parochial house I got the call. Members of the emergency services were already at the scene but it was obvious from their injuries that both men died instantly.
"One of the fire officers at the scene was unaware that one of the dead was his relative. I knew it but I couldn't tell him. It was a sight you just never want to see. Everyone there was just so distraught and helpless, particularly the lorry driver who, thank God, was not injured," he added.
PSNI inspector Garry Lynn said: "From our investigations it appears as though the lorry came out of the quarry and turned towards Newtownstewart from where the two bikers were coming. They had no chance."