Irishman tells of mass panic onboard tram close to scene
Sam Fearon, 21 AN Irishman has told of the “pandemonium” while on a tram that was forced to stop near yesterday’s terror attack in Australia.
Sam Fearon, 21, from North Dublin and now living in Melbourne, said the city has united following the incident that left one man dead and others injured.
He revealed passengers were petrified when they realised it was a terror attack just a few hundred yards away.
Sam said: “I was on the number 16 tram from St Kilda Road to CBD.
“We were coming down Swanston Street which is very near where the incident took place, and the tram stopped really suddenly. And I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’
“We could hear an unusual siren in the distance, I hadn’t a clue what the siren was for
“It was like nothing I’ve ever heard before.
“Apparently, it was a ‘terrorism siren’ and it was the first time it’s been used in Melbourne.
SCARY
“I didn’t have a clue what was going on but people started sharing videos on their phones and gossiping and other passengers started saying there had been some sort of attack.
“It was pretty scary and it was pandemonium on the tram, everyone just wanted to get off really quickly.
“We were eventually let off and people started growing a little more confident the incident was under control and started getting closer to the scene to see what was going on.”
Sam added he took a photo of a man who had a bag confiscated by police and praised officers for their actions.
He said: “The real thing here is the whole spring carnival with the Melbourne Cup was on in the city.
“This incident is a big deal, people were very worried, but we’re all fine.
“Now the whole thing is under control, everyone is banding together.”