NINETEEN PEOPLE have been killed and scores of others injured after an incident at an Ariana Grande concert in the 18,000 seater Manchester Arena. The incident is being treated as a possible terrorist attack.
There is still a great deal of confusion about exactly what has happened, but it seems agreed that there was an explosion in the venue at around 10.30pm, as the concert was drawing to a close. The explosion appears to have occurred in the foyer of the venue rather than inside the concert hall, with the deaths and injuries occurring among those who were also in the foyer – working at the venue, leaving the concert early or waiting to collect youngsters who had been at the concert.
US singer Ariana Grande attracts a young audience, and it is feared that those injured will include teenagers as well as mums and dads coming to collect their children. The singer herself is reported to be safe. Eye witnesses to the explosion have described suffering injures from flying “shrapnel”, and paramedics have also used this term to describe some of the injuries they have treated. This raises the possibility that the explosive device may have been packed with shrapnel to maximise its effect – though it may turn out to be the case that the large amount of glass in the foyer area and the force of the explosion caused the injuries.
It seems that those inside the concert hall heard the explosion – which has been described by eye witnesses as being extremely loud and very powerful. Responses were varied: some people ran for the exits, while others initially dropped to the floor, fearing a gunman may be at loose in the venue – and then got up and ran out too. There are eye witness reports that the number of people trying to leave the venue became something of a stampede, with some witnesses suggesting that this itself was causing injury to anyone who fell over.
Some at the concert, possibly those furthest from the foyer, initially thought the noise was part of the show – balloons popping, or something like that. Initially there were hopes that there might be a more innocent explanation for the explosion, but it does seem that this was a planned attack. There are reports from the US that the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber, but these are unconfirmed. Police found a suspicious item near the foyer shortly afterwards and carried out a controlled explosion before confirming that the object was abandoned clothing and not a second device.
The Arena is linked to Manchester’s train station and tram station, and the incident has affected transport out of Manchester as the stations were closed. Manchester Victoria train station is expected to be closed throughout Tuesday. Transport officials hope that the trams will run through the tram station without stopping, which will allow some sort of service to operate.
Three hours after the explosion, there was still a great deal of confusion. It is not clear whether the crowd was evacuated efficiently from the Arena or whether the panic caused more injury. The Arena and its surrounds were quickly cordoned off, and Greater Manchester Police are asking everyone to keep out of central Manchester – but there is still no central emergency hotline number to ring. Hospitals in the area have been very busy trying to deal with the casualties, with messages being put out asking the public not to ring 999 except in a life or death emergency. The full story of this dreadful night has yet to emerge.
What appears to have been a very inhuman act has, as usual, brought out the real humanity in people. There are reports of mums who were inside the concert helping other young girls to stay calm and leave the building. Local hotels and individuals also responded to the large number of people who were stranded in Manchester by using Twitter to offer beds for the night, using #roomsformanchester.
Political leaders have expressed their shock and sympathies. Newly elected Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said this was a “terrible night for our great city”. Counter-terrorism police officers and Home office officials have begun to gather in London to shape a response to the incident. There will be an emergency meeting of Cobra, the Government’s Crisis Response team, in the morning.
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