Explosion rocks Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, leaves fatalities
Abbott Tony
May 22, 2017
A deadly explosion has reportedly occurred in the northwestern British city of Manchester, with an unspecified number of fatalities.
British police said that there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of the explosion during a pop concert at the city’s arena early on Tuesday. People have been warned to stay away from the arena while investigation is underway.
According to witness accounts, a huge bang was heard from inside the arena causing panic and sudden rush in big crowds. Police has surrounded the Victoria train station.
"We were making our way out and when we were right by the door there was a massive explosion and everybody was screaming," a witness said. "It was a huge explosion - you could feel it in your chest. It was chaotic. Everybody was running and screaming and just trying to get out of the area."
Emergency services were also found to be heading to the area. The police have confirmed fatalities without giving further details.
KEY POINTS
Nineteen killed, at least 50 injured after blasts at end of Ariana Grande teen concert in Manchester.
Most victims believed to be teens; video shows panicked young fans fleeing venue in tears.
BBC reports the Northwest Counter Terrorism Unit is treating the blast as terrorism.
Witnesses describe "carnage everywhere" at conclusion of concert.
What happened?
A blast sparked a frantic evacuation of a concert arena in Manchester where US singer Ariana Grande was performing. Police have confimed 19 people are dead and about 50 injured. They are treating the blast as terrorist attack.
Where?
• The explosion happened in the foyer of Manchester Arena at 10.30pm Monday (local time).
• The venue is the largest indoor arena in Europe and can hold 21,000 people.
What are the authorities doing?
• A bomb disposal team and emergency services are on site.
•Police are treating the explosions as a possible terrorist attack.
•Britain is on its second-highest alert level of "severe" meaning an attack by militants is considered highly likely.
What have witnesses said?
•"It was a huge explosion - you could feel it in your chest. It was chaotic. Everybody was running and screaming and just trying to get out," concertgoer Catherine Macfarlane told Reuters.
•"Everyone just fled. Some people were injured. We saw blood on people when we got outside. People were just running all over the place," witness David Richardson told Manchester Evening News.
At least 19 people are dead and 50 more are injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted children leaving a packed pop concert at Manchester Arena last night.
Witnesses told of nuts and bolts tearing into young concert-goers when the blast was detonated in the foyer area between the arena and the next-door Victoria station just after the Ariana Grande gig ended.
Horrifying footage showed petrified children leaping over chairs and barriers as they desperately tried to escape the 21,000-seat venue, which led to a stampede.
Last night police carried out a controlled explosion at Cathedral Gardens after finding a second suspicious device.Armed officers surrounded the venue and bloodied casualties were seen being stretchered out of the concert that resembled a "war zone".
Forensic evidence, including a body, suggests the explosive device was detonated by a suicide bomber, according to a briefing from UK to US officials. The device is believed to have been packed with nails.
Panicked families have taken to social media to try to find loved-ones after concert-goers — some very young — scattered over the city after the Ariana Grande concert explosion.
Charlotte Rowe tweeted a photo of two young people with the words: "Looking for Chloe Rutherford and Liam curry. They where at areana in Manchester tonight and can't get in touch please share #Manchester."
The young woman said she was "frantic" and "out of my mind". She said police had been informed but "obviously are swamped with calls."In a series of chilling tweets, Christina wrote that her friend Martyn Hett was missing after attending the concert. "Everyone else is home safely. Martyn got lost," she wrote. "Called everyone I can think of."
As others reassured her that there were people at nearby hotels who had lost their mobile phones, she added: "Was ringing out straight after. Now nothing."
Others shared collages of all the faces they had seen reported as missing on social media.
Some claimed more than 50 children from the concert were sheltering at the Holiday Inn Manchester Arena, but news.com.au was not able to reach the numbers provided.
Parents who did manage to reach their children after the possible bomb attack, which has left at least 19 dead and 50 injured, were seen hugging their distressed and crying.
The hashtag #RoomForManchester began trending, with people offering their couches, spare rooms and cups of tea for those who were stranded after the huge explosion.
Hotel Gotham offered complimentary rooms and taxi company Streetcars arranged a meeting point at its offices, promising to help people get home safely, or let them stay at headquarters for the night if they couldn't get home after trains were cancelled.
Hospitals were reportedly calling in extra staff to be ready for a "rush of patients", with North West Ambulance Service asking people to "only call us for life threatening emergencies at this time."
Manchester Evening News reported that people were leaving Manchester Royal Infirmary in tears, too upset to talk, some desperately trying to find family members. The newspaper was also offering lifts along the M61 and M6 corridor.
Witnesses also reported a heavy police presence at Salford Royal hospital.
Abby Mullen from Airdire, North Lanakshire who was at the event said: "As we were leaving a bomb or explosion went off centimetres in front of me. People's skin and faeces where everywhere including in my hair and on my bag.
"I'm still finding bits of God knows what in my hair. You never ever expect these things to happen to you but this proves it can happen to anybody. That sound, the blood and those who were running around clueless with body parts and bits of skin missing will not be leaving my mind any time soon or the minds of those involved."
Gary Walker, from Leeds, was with his wife in the foyer waiting to pick up his two daughters from the concert.
He said: "I was waiting for the kids to come out. We heard the last song, and quite a few people were flooding out and then suddenly there was a massive flash and then a bang, smoke.
"I felt a bit of pain in my foot and my leg. My wife said, 'I need to lie down'. I lay her down, she'd got a stomach wound and possibly a broken leg.
Witnesses tell of seeing bloodied, injured people in and outside the arena. Photo / Joel Goodman
"I was about 3m from the actual explosion. I am surprised I got away so lightly."
Walker said the explosion was by the door in the foyer, next to a merchandise stall, and that glass and metal nuts were left on the floor.
He told the Star: "The nuts must have been packed in the device that's exploded - there's nowhere else they could've come from."
His daughter Abigail, who was still in the auditorium with sister Sophie at the time of the explosion, said: "I had to make sure I had my sister. I grabbed hold of her and pulled hard.
"Everyone was running and crying. We were just trying to figure where everyone was. It was absolutely terrifying."
Abigail and Sophie contacted their parents by mobile phone, a moment Walker described as "fantastic news".
At least 19 people are dead and more than 50 injured after the explosions at the Ariana Grande concert. Photo / Daily Mail
David Richardson was at the gig with his daughter Emily, 13. He said: "The lights came on after the gig and people were starting to leave.
"As I turned to the left there was an explosion. It was about 40 foot [12m] behind us near one of the exits.
"We just thought it was people messing about then it happened again. Another explosion sounded.
"Then we saw the smoke. Everyone just fled. Some people were injured. We saw blood on people when we got outside. People were just running all over the place.
"People have said it was a speaker or balloons but it wasn't. It was explosions."
Another man who took his daughter to the gig said: "Ariana said: 'Bye bye Manchester!' The lights came on then there was two big noises and people started running and shouting.
"We got in a lift to go up to the next floor to the exits. When the doors opened I saw blood on the floor and two injured people.
"Blood all over their faces. A lot of people were in shock."
Survivors hug outside the Manchester Arena after a suspected terror attack. Photo / Thomas Temple
Witness Sasina Akhtar said: "She [Ariana Grande] did her last song, we were in the lower tier and there was an explosion behind us at the back of the arena.
"We saw young girls with blood on them, everyone was screaming and people were running. There was lots of smoke."
Connor Rohan, 23, was with friends at the gig and said he heard bangs followed by "deafening screams".
He said: "It was just panic and people running. No one knew what was going on and there was an awful lot of screaming."
Erin McDougle, 20, from Newcastle said: "There was a loud bang at the end of the concert. The lights were already on so we knew it wasn't part of the show.
"At first we thought it was a bomb. There was a lot of smoke. People started running out.
When we got outside the arena there were dozens of police vans and quite a few ambulances."
A group of young men from Sheffield said they had seen at least five people covered in blood and others being carried out by bouncers.
"Ariana Grande had just gone behind the curtain and the lights came up when there was this massive bang and a big cloud of smoke. I saw five people with blood all down them,' said one.
Erika Ignata, 18, from Cheshire, was at the concert with her 26-year-old sister, Monica. She told MailOnline: "We were on the ground floor when Ariana sang the last song. There was a massive sound which we immediately though was a bomb.
"I just grabbed my sister and we were running for the door, it was absolute chaos. All around me there were little girls."
Ignata described running outside and seeing crowds of parents crying and trying to contact their children on the phone.
She added: "Me and my sister ran and got into our car which was about 50 yards [45m] away from the arena. I saw lots of girls crying and mums calling out.
"Lots of people shaking and calling on the phone trying to get in touch with people."
Calvin Welsford, 18, from Bristol told the BBC: "It almost sounded like a gunshot.
"I looked around and people were just spilling down, heading out of the building.
"I was actually having an asthma attack. It was sheer panic."
Student Courtney Spencer, 17, who was at the concert with a friend, told The Sun: "It happened just in front of us at the top of the stairs. We didn't know what had happened. It could have been a gun or a bang or an explosion.
"We just grabbed each other and got away. One lass was laying in her mother's arms. I'm not sure if she has collapsed in shock or was injured."
Video footage showed people fleeing in tears from the venue after bangs rang out immediately after the concert finished.
Bloodied concertgoers were pictured being helped by emergency services outside the gig and armed police were seen patrolling the arena.
Video footage showed people fleeing in tears from the venue after reports of explosions at the end of the concert.
Evie Brewster, who attended the concert, told MailOnline: "Ariana Grande had just finished her last song and left the stage when a huge explosion sounded.
Suddenly everybody started screaming and running for the exit.
"We could hear the police and ambulance sirens. It was terrifying.
"There were thousands of people trying to get out at once. They were all screaming and crying. The whole place smelled smokey and burned.
"The explosion sounded like it was inside the building somewhere."
Manchester's Victoria station, which backs onto the arena, has been evacuated and all trains cancelled.
Greater Manchester Police said: "Emergency services are currently responding to reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena.
"There are a number of confirmed fatalities and others injured."
"Please avoid the area as first responders work tirelessly at the scene. Details of a casualty bureau will follow as soon as available."
Jonathan Yates, 24, from the Wirral, who attended the gig, told MailOnline: "The concert had finished and the lights came on almost instantly. There was a bang, a weird bang. There were lots of balloons but I thought to myself that can't be a balloon, that's not normal.
"We were on the floor level and it came from the higher seats, people were running and screaming. Everyone stopped and I turned to my friend and said 'we need to run'. Everyone was running and screaming and then when we got out it felt a bit more okay.
"I heard five or six bangs that sounded like gunshots. When we got outside people were outside, crying and on their phones.
"You don't think it's something that's going to happen when you go. It was such a nice, fun concert."
A woman is helped by police following reports of an explosion at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena. Photo / Joel Goodman/LNP/REX/Shutterstock
Nick Schurok, 28, from Manchester, told MailOnline: "Ariana Grande had just finished the concert and the lights came on. Everyone started leaving. I was on the floor and at the back of the arena people started exiting through the tunnels.
"There was a bang in the left tunnel and everyone went to the middle tunnel. Then about two minutes later, there was another bang. The bang was so loud and crowds of people were running. There were lots of children and families there."
Another witness Jenny Brewster told MailOnline: "We were exiting the building when it happened. We'd headed towards the main doors as Ariana was performing the last song because we wanted to beat the crowds, but as we made our way there a wall of security men blocked it and told us to go the other way.
"Seconds later they shouted 'run!' and the explosion happened right behind them. Hundreds of people were running and screaming. Those men saved our lives."
People are seen helping an injured man near Manchester Arena after reports of an explosion at an Ariana Grande concert. Photo / Joel Goodman/LNP/REX/Shutterstock
Catherine Macfarlane told Reuters: "We were making our way out and when we were right by the door there was a massive explosion and everybody was screaming.
"It was a huge explosion; you could feel it in your chest. It was chaotic. Everybody was running and screaming and just trying to get out of the area."
Majid Khan, 22, said: "I and my sister, along with a lot of others were seeing Ariana Grande perform at Manchester Arena, and we were all exiting the venue when around 10.40-10.45pm-ish a huge bomb-like bang went off that hugely panicked everyone and we were all trying to flee the arena.
"It was one bang and essentially everyone from the other side of the arena where the bang was heard from suddenly came running towards us as they were trying to exit Trinity Way and that was blocked so everyone was just running to any exit they could find as quickly as they could.
"Everyone was in a huge state of panic, calling each other as some had gone to the toilet while this had gone off, so it was just extremely disturbing for everyone there."
Another concert-goer Laura, 22, told MailOnline: "There was a woman leaning against a car in the car park with her head down, covered in blood and a little girl being lifted away by paramedics. There were quite a few people injured in the car park."
Her friend, Livvy, 22, added: "We saw the explosion happen. Bits of it hit me. My first thought was, 'that's a bomb'.
"It was just when we were leaving. We saw a flash of light and smoke.
"We're really shaken up. If we had been there moment earlier we would have been caught up in it rather than seeing it."
Victims outside Manchester Arena following a massive explosion. Picture / REX
Oliver Jones, 17, was at the concert with his 19-year-old sister.
He said: "I was in the toilet and heard a loud bang just after the concert had finished and people had started to leave.
"The bang echoed around the foyer of the arena and people started to run.
"I seen people running and screaming towards one direction and then many were turning around to run back the other way.
"Security was running out as well as the fans and concert goers.
"Reports of blood and people injured."
He added: "In so much shock and panic. You see this on the news all the time and never expect it to happen to you. I just had to run and make sure me and my sister were safe."
Ariana Grande performing onstage. Photo / Getty Images
Suzy Mitchell, 26, whose flat is opposite the area, reported a huge bang rocking the neighbourhood.
She told the Press Association: "[I] just heard a huge bang from my bed, came out to the front of my apartments (we're on the top floor so have perfect view) and everyone was running away in big crowds.
"The bang was so big I heard it from my room, which is at the back of the apartment blocks.
"Lots of emergency services going to and from. But can't see anything substantial as of yet except fleeing people and lots of cars.
Former Manchester United footballer Rio Ferdinand said: "Just heard the news what's happening in Manchester. Hope everyone is safe and sound!"
A man says there was "carnage everywhere" after a fatal explosion at a music venue in northern England left around 30 people, including children, lying on the floor.
Police have confimed 19 people are dead and about 50 injured. They are treating the blast as a terrorist attack.
The man, named as Andy, was waiting to pick up his wife and daughter at the end of Ariana Grande's show when he was blown about 10m by a blast that shook the building and surrounding areas on Monday night.
He's told the BBC panic then erupted as families rushed to find loved ones amid the chaos. "It's shocking what happened. Just carnage everywhere.
Emergency services were treating the wounded who were scatted by the blast near a box office at the venue."There was a good 20 to 30 of them [victims]. Some were young kids, some were disabled people," Andy said.
"As I was waiting an explosion went off and it threw me through the first set of doors about 30 foot to the next set of doors.
"When I got up and looked around there was about 30 people scattered everywhere, some of them looked dead, they might of been unconscious but there was a lot of fatalities.
"My first thing was to run in the stadium to try and find my wife and daughter.
"When I couldn't find them I looked back outside and the police, fire and ambulance were there and I looked at some of the bodies trying to find my family.
"Luckily they weren't there, I managed to find them outside the arena and got them back to the hotel."
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