Paramedic tells of ‘awful’ Arena blast

THE FIRST paramedic on the scene of the Manchester Arena bombing has told a public inquiry he was not prepared for what a “large-scale and awful incident” it was.

Advanced paramedic Patrick Ennis was the first person from North West Ambulance Service to arrive at the venue after Salman Abedi detonated a bomb which killed 22 people and injured hundreds of others on May 22 2017. Many victims came from Yorkshire. Giving evidence to the public inquiry into the attack, Mr Ennis yesterday said it was not until he entered the City Room, or foyer, where the bomb was detonated, that he realised the “true scale” of the incident.

He said: “Nothing that anybody had said to me before that had really prepared me for what a large-scale and awful incident it was.”

He also said he had not prepared himself for the age of those involved in the incident, which happened at the end of an Ariana Grande concert.

He was one of three paramedics to enter the City Room on the night and will return to give more detailed evidence about what happened in there on a later date.

The inquiry heard that radio communications between Mr Ennis and colleague Jackie Carney, who worked on the trauma cell in ambulance control, were recorded as he made his way to the arena at 10.38pm, seven minutes after the bomb went off.

Speaking over the radio, Mr Ennis said: “They seem like they’re a bit like headless chickens up there at the moment, as I will be of course as soon as I arrive on the scene.”

He told the inquiry he was referring to the ambulance service’s emergency operations centre but said: “That’s a comment which I perhaps regret.”

The hearing continues.