Бывший страж порядка рассказал о панике жителей Боснии во время затмения 1999 года

"People were told to lock themselves inside and don't go outside," said the Meath resident who lives outside Navan. Former Garda Sgt recalls eclipse left Bosnians 'terrified' By: Louise Walsh   A former Garda sergeant told how residents were 'terrified' about the last solar eclipse in 1999 in Bosnia-Herzegovina where he was stationed on a UN mission. John O'Dwyer was serving overseas there ahead of the last eclipse when local media were regularly broadcasting health warning that the event could cause increased radiation and higher risks of cancer. "People were told to lock themselves inside and don't go outside," said the Meath resident who lives outside Navan. "We were trying to explain to the people we were working with that this wasn't the case but they had to believe their government. I actually have a photograph somewhere of a local man rushing to get home and he is has a sheet of galvanised copper on his back and head as a shield against the radiation. "The local language assistants who we worked with, all locked themselves into their office containers and blackened all the windows with blankets. When we opened the door, they screamed at us to close it." John, who was speaking to LMFM's Lite Lunch added that the border guards closed the bridge and locked themselves into a blacked out hut. "Everyone was terrified in case they were exposed to radiation," he added. "They placed complete trust in what their government at the time was saying." "It was a real eye-opener and they were fantastic people. Even the owners of the house where I stayed were begging me not to go to work that day as it was too dangerous." John did watch the eclipse at the time by taking the lens of a welding mask on the site they worked on. "I followed the eclipse from the start all the way through to the beautiful diamond ring that you would see where the total eclipse takes place. It was fascinating and I have photographs somewhere too that I too through the lens." John came home to Ireland in 2000 but did go back about ten years ago when he was delighted to see improvements in the region. "The bullet holes are still in the walls of the houses but the road structure, everything was so much better."