Two of the eight detained overnight in hospital are in serious condition

THE RUC said 31 people, including two children, were injured in the Lisburn blasts

THE RUC said 31 people, including two children, were injured in the Lisburn blasts. Eight were detained in hospital overnight. A man and a woman were in a very serious condition in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

The injured were treated initially at the Lagan Valley Hospital in Lisburn. Mr Brendan Sinnott, the hospital's accident and emergency consultant, said four men and four women were brought there about 20 minutes after the bomb went off. They were suffering from a range of head, chest and leg injuries. Emergency surgery was performed on three men and one woman.

An eight year old girl, who had been close to the site of the blast, was very distressed and shaken when she was admitted, according to Mr John Compton, deputy chief executive of the hospital. She was released following treatment for shock.

After the condition of the victims had been stabilised they were transferred to hospitals in Belfast - three to specialist units in the Royal Victoria and the rest to Belfast City Hospital. The couple most seriously injured were suffering from head and abdominal wounds.

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Mr Sinnott said those treated at the Lagan Valley hospital had been in their mid 20s to mid 30s. He said hospital staff had heard the explosion and knew it was a bomb.

They immediately put an emergency plan into operation and were initially told to expect up to 20 casualties. A number of doctors and nurses who were off duty returned to the hospital.

The consultant said it was difficult to say how many of the injured were British army personnel since their clothes had been cut off before treatment. It was too early to tell the exact nature of the injuries, he explained.

"Bomb injuries, because of their nature, can go on to give problems later, including serious chest injuries, but it is impossible to say at this stage, what those injuries might be.