Home at last, Barra bomb victim saved by security guard
IT was a poignant moment to return to her island home, 100 days after the terror attack that claimed her friend’s life.
Laura MacIntyre made the emotional journey back to Barra yesterday, as her parents praised her for continuing to amaze them with her ‘strength and bravery’.
Details also emerged of how the 15year-old was rescued by a security guard amid the chaos in Manchester.
Last night, on STV documentary Manchester: 100 Days After The Attack, Niall Pentony told how he tended to Laura in the aftermath of the bombing, as a picture of him visiting the teenager in her hospital bed was shown on screen.
He said: ‘I was walking by when this girl grabbed hold of my leg. I instantly dropped onto the floor, onto my knees, and rolled her onto her side and started talking to her and keeping her going.’
Laura had travelled 400 miles with her friend Eilidh MacLeod, 14, to attend the Ariana Grande concert on May 22 when suicide bomber Salmen Abedi struck.
Twenty-two people were killed in the foyer of the Manchester MEN Arena immediately after the show, in an attack that injured 119 others.
It was later confirmed that Eilidh was among those killed, while Laura was found in hospital.
After being treated at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital for serious hand and leg injuries, she was moved to a hospital in Glasgow in July to continue her recovery.
Last month, Laura’s parents, Michael and Nan MacIntyre, thanked the people of Manchester for the support they gave her, and also thanked Mr Pentony.
In a statement, they said: ‘The kindness and care started from the first moments after the bombing when a young Travelsafe officer held Laura’s hand and comforted her for an hour while she waited for treatment.
‘We believe he helped save Laura’s life that night and he will always be a hero to our family.
‘Since then, he has been to visit Laura in hospital and it was a privilege to meet him and thank him in person.’
Last night, Laura’s parents issued an updated statement on their daughter, saying: ‘We are delighted that Laura has been able to return home to Barra.
‘She continues to amaze us every day with her strength and bravery and we’ve looked forward to this day for a long time. We’d like to thank everyone who has helped Laura and our family get here, from the first responders to the doctors and nurses in Manchester and Glasgow, and the Ronald McDonald charity who supported us while we were away.
‘We now want to return to as much of a normal life as possible and would appreciate time and privacy to focus on Laura’s longterm recovery.’
In last night’s documentary, Eilidh’s great uncle, Donald Manford, said the island was still in shock. He said: ‘It was a day that passed in a flash – that went on forever. There’s still a sense of shock and numbness.’
At Eilidh’s funeral on Barra in June, around 1,000 mourners gathered in Castlebay to lay her to rest.
Just before the funeral began at the Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, the Ariana Grande song My Everything was played, before Eilidh was described as a ‘wee ray of light that will never go out’.
Father John Paul MacKinnon told the mourners: ‘Eilidh had such a warm, gentle nature – a heart full of love. Our loss is Heaven’s gain.
‘The last thing in Eilidh’s life was happiness. She had spent a wonderful weekend away from the island, going shopping, going to nice cafes, going to the cinema and then going to her pop idol’s concert – Ariana. She was the happiest she had ever been and that’s what we hold onto today, the happiness of Eilidh’s life.’
Father Mackinnon said of her death: ‘It’s something that we will get through. We will never get over, but we will carry on.’
A large procession then walked toward Eilidh’s native Vatersay, an island connected to Barra by causeway, for her burial.
On June 4, Ariana Grande hosted One Love Manchester, a benefit concert and TV special in response to the bombing.
This month it was revealed that about £18million was raised and victims’ families will receive £250,000 each.
‘It was a privilege to meet him’