‘I saw blood, then boom!’ Arena bombing survivor recalls blast that killed 22
it WaS meant to be a night to remember for his 12-year-old daughter, who saved for months to afford a ticket to see her pop idol.
But as Piotr Chylewska was arranging to collect amelia and her mother, ewa, he was caught up in the horror of the Manchester arena attack.
the family had travelled from Scotland for the ariana Grande concert targeted by suicide bomber Salman abedi.
Father-of-two Mr Chylewska has spoken for the first time about the blast that killed 22 people and left him fighting for life.
he said: ‘i sent ewa a message saying, “i’m here”, then started writing another one saying i was at the main entrance.
‘those were the last words before my phone smashed in my hand.
‘then i lost vision in my eye. When i put my hand up to it, i saw blood and then i heard “boom”. i remember it happening in that order, in fractions of seconds. When i saw the blood and heard the noise i realised right away what had happened.
‘immediately after that it went pure quiet. then people started screaming, including me. When i saw the blood i started shouting. i crawled to what i thought was a bar or the box office.’
Polish-born Mr Chylewska, 46, lost an eye. he spent five days in a coma and endured four operations as doctors removed shrapnel from his legs, head and torso. Seven weeks on, the maintenance engineer still faces a long recovery.
his local pub in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, the Fairways Bar, is holding a charity event tonight to raise funds for his family.
Manager Collette Mcallister said: ‘he has two kids to support and bills to pay... we can help towards that.’
Mr Chylewska may only make a brief appearance as he still needs rest, but he said: ‘i say a big thank you to them for doing this.’
Recalling the tragedy of May 22, Mr Chylewska – who also has a son, Kacper, 16 – said: ‘John the policeman and Peter the security guard kept me talking to make sure i was still conscious.
‘i was drifting, losing contact, but i came back. they had to cut my clothes off, and i was sitting outside against the wall in only my pants. i saw people lying on the floor. that was horrible.’
he watched as a teenage girl was brought out and given CPR, recalling; ‘there were people around her shouting, “Please stay, darling”. the first-aider was giving her chest compressions and ventilation for a long time.
‘i remember seeing a couple of trolleys with people lying on them and the last trolley had someone inside a black bag. i’m not sure if it was the girl. i hope it wasn’t.’
Mr Chylewska miraculously survived the destructive force of the homemade bomb, packed with nuts, bolts and bits of metal.
he said: ‘i work with this sort of stuff daily, they’re the sort of thing you buy in any hardware shop.’ his 38-year-old wife spent hours hunting for him before tracking him to the University hospital of South Manchester the next day. Surgeons had already operated.
he said: ‘i saw ewa and amelia at the side of the bed without a scratch. i was so happy to see them – and so happy i was alive.’
Mr Chylewska was put in a medically induced coma for five days while undergoing three more major operations, and was later transferred to Glasgow’s Queen elizabeth University hospital.
he said: ‘twenty-two people died and i was just so happy not to be number 23. i don’t feel anything about him [abedi]. there is no chance to change anything that happened. My hope is to move forward. the past is gone.’
‘I was drifting, losing contact’