Songs, dancing, then mayhem
The final lines of the American star’s provocative pop anthem, Dangerous Woman, still rang in Stacey Brown’s ears. It was her first Ariana Grande concert, a surprise for her 11th birthday.
She had travelled here on Monday from Aberdeen, in Scotland, with her parents. The concert, she said, had fulfilled her wildest dreams — “the songs, the background, the stage, the lights. It was all so good.”
The 23-year-old singer left the stage, and the lights came up. Concert-goers reached for their bags and coats, as others made an early start for the doors, including Stacey and her mother, Sharon Moir, 43. A bang was heard. “There was silence for like three seconds, then someone screamed,” recalled Mark Harrison, who had brought his 12-year-old daughter, Arin, to the concert from Cumbria, FOR YOUNG ARIANA GRANDE FANS, MANCHESTER SHOW A FUN NIGHT ENDING IN HORROR in northern Britain.
It was the beginning of a night of panic and carnage, as a bomb exploded in the entrance hall of the Manchester Arena, one of the world’s largest indoor venues, with a capacity of 21,000. Manchester is 260 kilometres northwest of London.
The bombing, in which the attacker himself was killed, was the deadliest terror strike in Britain since 2005.
Twenty-two concert-goers died, the youngest identified so far was eight-year-old Saffie Roussos. Of the 59 who were injured, 12 are under the age of 16. On Tuesday, the Islamic State claimed responsibility, though similar claims after past attacks have not been proven.
Eyewitness accounts, police statements photos and video footage paint a picture of a grisly scene of chaos and gore, in which the glee of music fans clutching pink balloons — many of them teenagers, some younger still — turned to horror.
A recording from inside the concert hall captures the moment the bomb detonated, leading to gasps, and, seconds later, screams. Disbelief and confusion reigned. “Oh my God,” a woman exclaimed. Audience members scanned the arena. Suddenly sensing danger, they darted from the aisles.
As they fled the scene, some parents assured their children that the noise had just been the popping of a balloon. Or an equipment malfunction. Or pyrotechnics.
“It was carnage. Everyone was scrambling over each other ... It was just a race to get out really,” said 14-yearold Charlotte Fairclough, who got tickets as a Christmas present.
“We just heard a bang. Everyone stopped and turned around,” she said. “You could hear adults telling the little ones it was only a balloon.”
Heidi Hemblys, 43, and her two young daughters followed a line of people out through a fire exit. She saw one man clutching his head, tears streaming down his cheeks, after he had seen bodies dismembered from the blast in the arena’s foyer.
“We heard people say it was a bomb, and so I couldn’t lie to my kids,” she said. “It was supposed to be a fun night. It’s absolutely terrifying.”
More than 240 calls came in for emergency service beginning at 10:33 p.m. Monday, according to Manchester Police. Immediately the police presence in the Victoria train station, which adjoins the concert hall, was immense, said Moir, who rushed to meet her partner on the curb outside. She had to make it through “absolute mayhem” to get there.
“There were people everywhere with cuts, people crying, people trying to call their kids, screaming for their kids,” she said.
Andy Holey, who went to pick up his family, said the blast threw him nine metres through a set of doors.
“When I got up and looked around, there was about 30 people scattered everywhere. Some of them looked dead,” he said.
By 10:46, emergency health services were on the scene, said David Ratcliff, the director of the ambulance services. Many of the victims were taken to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, he said.
The dead were only just beginning to be identified Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, desperate calls went out on social media by family members and friends of those still missing. “Please just somebody get a hold of her. I’m worried sick,” Charlotte Campbell told BBC of her daughter, Olivia, who is 15 and not answering her phone. “We’ve not slept.”
Those whose young children made it safely home said they were thankful, inexpressibly so, but they wondered how they would explain this sort of violence to them. They feared for their innocence.
“You just don’t want to believe it at first,” said Gina Bhaird, 43, who attended the concert with her 14-year-old son, who is autistic. “Noise affects him, and so that’s why we got up to leave the concert slightly early. He’s going to be in bits now.”
Pop star Ariana Grande, 23, was unhurt but described herself as “broken.”
“From the bottom of my heart, I am so, so sorry. I don’t have words,” she said on Twitter.
THERE WERE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE WITH CUTS, PEOPLE CRYING, PEOPLE TRYING TO CALL THEIR KIDS.