Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
LUCKY TO BE ALIVE
Airdrie mum and daughter flee terror attack
A traumatised Airdrie mum and daughter caught up in the horrific Manchester Arena bombing atrocity say they are “lucky to be alive”.
Stunned Lisa Kane, 34, and Abby Mullen, 17, were drenched in blood and left with pieces of skin in their hair when a homemade explosive device was detonated by a lone suicide bomber just metres from where they were standing, killing 22 people and injuring 59 others.
Lisa and Abby had earlier joined thousands of happy concert-goers singing along to American superstar Ariana Grande before making their way towards the packed venue’s exit tunnel, where they were violently thrown backwards by the sheer force of the blast.
Speaking from the family home yesterday, Lisa said: “I instantly knew it was a bomb. Everyone started screaming and crying. It was chaos.”
Airdrie mother and daughter Lisa Kane and Abby Mullen had just finished cheering American superstar Ariana Grande’s curtain call when their joy turned to terror and they were left in fear for their lives.
The pair were among thousands of innocent concert-goers targeted by a lone suicide bomber during Monday night’s Manchester terror attack.
Lisa, 34, and Abby, 17, were making their way to the packed venue’s exit tunnel when they were suddenly thrown backwards from the force of the blast – which detonated just metres from where they had been standing.
They were left “drenched in blood” and with pieces of skin in their hair following the devastating attack, which claimed 22 lives – including young children.
Speaking from the family home yesterday, an emotional Lisa said she and Abby had been fortunate to survive: “We are luckily to be alive. On our way out as we walked towards a tunnel towards the main foyer, a blast went off and we were thrown backwards with the force.
“I instantly knew it was a bomb. Everyone started screaming and crying. It was chaos.
“I could taste the chemicals in my mouth and down my throat. Abby and I were drenched in blood.
“We had pieces of skin on us and in our hair that must have been from people injured in the attack.
“Abby had faeces on her back. I realised someone close to her must have been badly injured.”
Dazed and in shock, Lisa and Abby made their way back to their hotel as emergency services raced to help those injured.
And Lisa said her daughter’s footwear was the reason of their lucky escape.
She continued: “Abby had been wearing high heels and on the way out had been walking really slowly in front of me.
“I keep thinking that if it hadn’t been for her heels then we would have been further on into the foyer and we could well have been killed.”
Once outside the pair ended up in an alleyway and Lisa contacted her brother, who immediately drove to Manchester and brought them back home to Airdrie.
Lisa went on: “This was the last thing we ever expected to happen. The concert had been amazing and we had been taking pictures together just before the blast.
“Abby had been looking forward to it for months. She loves Ariana Grande and had been so happy to be there.
“Now she is simply traumatised. She is just a wee girl and what happened is devastating.”
In the aftermath of their terrifying experience, former St Margaret’s High pupil Abby took to Facebook to tell worried-sick friends and family they had escaped unharmed, as news of the bombing sent shockwaves across the globe.
She said: “Just out of the Ariana Grande Concert in Manchester. I thought we would leave seconds before the last song finished in order to get home quicker instead of waiting longer for a taxi.
“As we were leaving a bomb or explosion went off metres in front of me.
“I am fine and back in my hotel. I hope everyone involved is okay. 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 where 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. Hope everyone is alright I’m very, very lucky to be where I am just now.”
Lisa also wrote on her Facebook page yesterday: “Thanks everyone for your messages, means a lot. Back from hospital. We’re both physically OK, just mentally not. We’re alive, that’s the main thing. This world is f***** up.”
North Lanarkshire Provost Jean Jones has written to Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to express condolences on behalf of everyone in the county.
Provost Jones said: “All of us will be horrified by the senseless violence which targeted innocent young people enjoying a concert in Manchester.
“But I believe the reaction of the people of Manchester, from first responders to ordinary people who opened up their homes to strangers, signifies hope in the face of the most terrible circumstances.”
Armed police arrested a 23-year-old man in south Manchester, in connection with the attack and Prime Minister Theresa May said it was “beyond doubt that the people of Manchester, and of this country, have fallen victim to a callous terrorist attack” that targeted “defenceless young people”.