Hundreds evacuated as bomb squad deal with suspicious car
A SUSPICIOUS car thought to be linked to the Manchester bomber triggered the evacuation of hundreds of students and residents in Rusholme.
A white Nissan Micra found in the car park of a private block of flats yesterday morning was eventually taken away inside a large van after several hours of investigation by forensics and bomb-disposal officers.
Greater Manchester Police put up a cordon blocking access to dozens of roads surrounding nearby Banff Road, where investigations into Salman Abedi’s movements before the fatal attack have been focussed since Thursday.
The unprecedented scale of the police operation in Manchester saw local officers joined by a bomb disposal team and police forces from other parts of the country, including Lancashire and Cheshire.
Describing the discovery of the car in the grounds of Devell House on Rusholme Place, as a “potentially significant development in the investigation,” GMP Det Chief Supt Russ Jackson appealed for information about the movements and drivers of the white Nissan Micra that was lifted into the back of a large grey van from a local garage firm shortly before 8pm.
During the day with the largest visible police activity concentrated on one area since the Manchester Arena attack, Devell House had officers guarding the suspicious car from 7am.
A large cordon was put up around Banff Road and Rusholme Place and some nearby
homes were evacuated, with officers later going door-to-door asking more people to leave the area. Police officers then entered the flats above the block of shops on Oxford Road and students started coming out of the building.
Ronald McDonald House, which provides accommodation for families with children at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, was evacuated at noon, leaving some families stranded outside with youngsters for hours.
Shops on Wilmslow Road pulled down their shutters, pubs closed and huge crowds of onlookers gathered to watch the steady flow of police vehicles towards the parked car.
Buses were stationed on Wilmslow Road to take students and evacuated residents to a reception centre at Owens Park in Fallowfield.
A Manchester city council spokesperson said the support centre was offering help to around 60 people, providing shelter, and food and drink to those affected by the cordon.
GMP officers directed anyone arriving at the cordon to the support centre if they were unable to reach their homes or businesses.
Many people also had to be redirected to the Manchester Royal Infirmary after Hathersage Road was cordoned off.
Shortly after 3.30pm a bomb disposal squad drove into the cordon area, and eventually left the scene at 5.30pm. No explosion took place A low loader and the large van then arrived to remove the vehicle at the centre of the huge operation.
Once it was taken away and some of the cordon lifted, senior officers outside Devell House revealed the Micra was parked in the car park behind the flats.
It was lifted into trolley-style equipment and brought out towards Rusholme Place before being loaded into a van belonging to local garage Charles Wilson.
The cordon on Oxford Place was taken down almost immediately after the van left, allowing residents to get back into their homes, although a cordon remained around Devell House with officers guarding the scene.