Mystery humming noise is plaguing Irish town by keeping residents awake at night – and it’s getting worse
RESIDENTS in Omagh are buzzing over a mysterious incessant hum in the town.
Baffled Fermanagh and Omagh District Council officials have launched an investigation to find the source of the noise - but with no luck so far.
First reported in the Tamlaght Road area of Omagh in late October, the noise can usually only be heard at night.
However, it has now spread to other parts of the town with council officials vowing to bring in outside noise experts.
A spokesperson said: “Due to the wide area where the sound has been reported it is difficult to pinpoint the exact source(s).”
They added that council officers were now “investigating the use of specialist equipment, or procurement of a specialist company, to assist in detecting the source of the noise”.
People in the Tyrone town have said the hum is impacting their sleep.
Speaking on BBC Radio Foyle on Tuesday, Alliance councillor Stephen Donnelly said it is a “legitimate problem”.
“I appreciate that when a story like this is kind of draped in mystery and intrigue that it can very easily become a subject of trivialisation but certainly from people I have spoken to…they are very concerned about the ability that they have to make sure they get a good night’s sleep.
“From our perspective, we want to make sure that whenever people are raising concerns about these kind of issues that they are being addressed in a proactive way.”
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Speaking on Morning Ireland, Donnelly said people said it is like a constant buzz or humming noise, which can sometimes have a vibration.
“For some people, it’s something that they’ve gotten used to.
“For some people, they haven’t heard it, but for a considerable number of people, it’s something that’s providing a disturbance that is giving real cause for concern.”
There have been other reportings of ‘the Hum’ as the phenomenon is called over the past 50 years across the world.
While some put it down to farm machinery, other conspiracy theories have said it could be UFOs.
There is even a website, thehum.info, where people can log the unidentifiable noises they hear.
HUM REPORTINGS
In Ireland, some have been reported in Dublin, Belfast, Carlow and Galway.
Separately, confusion was caused elsewhere after a Ryanair jet came within “20 metres” of a UFO, police logs show.
It was climbing out of Stansted Airport when it encountered a “black” object at 4,000ft.
Essex Police released details of the incident in a Freedom of Information request.
The log reads: “The pilot saw an object he described as ‘black’ which passed within 20 metres.
“The plane was travelling at 230mph and the object from north to south. They said it was possibly a drone — but monitoring equipment has not picked it up.”
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A further three planes were alerted to another “object” over Essex last year.
Gary Heseltine, UFO Truth Magazine editor, said: “Strange aerial things are being reported on a regular basis.”