Jason's 'a lucky lad' after Bali escape

AN Enniskillen man injured in the Bali bomb blast is undergoing an operation on his legs in a Singapore hospital today.

Jason Dooris, (32), was in the Sari Club in Kuta Beach when the terrorist bomb exploded almost two weeks ago, killing about 180 people.

His long-time friend sitting next to him has not been found, and there are fears he was killed in the firestorm that followed the massive explosion.

Jason's English wife Marisa and his father Tony are in Singapore with him after he was flown from Kuta in an emergency airlift.

His mother Tess, speaking from the family's home in Enniskillen, said today her son was about to be operated on, and she hoped he would be able to come home soon.

"He is a very lucky lad that he is alive, let me tell you," she said this morning.

"His injuries aren't really that serious compared to a lot of other people, and he is looking forward to getting home."

She said her son's main injuries were a split kneecap and perforated eardrums.

"He doesn't know how he got out of the bar. I have talked to him several times in hospital, but haven't been able to ask."

While the Dooris family was relieved to learn that their son had survived, this was tempered by sadness for the loss of his friend and for the many other deaths, she said.

Jason was having a drink with Michael Standring, his long-time friend who was leaving for Australia the next day, while Jason's wife Marisa had decided to stay in at their hotel nearby.

He had been in Bali several times, and loved the Balinese, his mother said.

After the blast, Marisa phoned Tess to say Jason had been caught up in the blast, but was alive.

"I was not aware that there had been a bomb at all," his mother said.

Jason and Marisa were married in June last year, having met a couple of years ago in Bali, and had been intending to make a life for themselves in Australia, an uncle said.

But they were now planning to come home to Fermanagh.

The couple had been living in England, as had Mr Standring, before deciding to take the holiday.

In London today, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh joined the Prince of Wales and thousands of mourners to pay tribute to the Bali bomb victims. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, was also attending the memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral.

And in Bali today, police have brought dozens of witnesses to the scene of the October 12 blasts to reconstruct events in the night leading up to the attack.