Regional police. Manchester Victory Station is nearby. So to Police Forces nearby. Eyewitnesses have spoken about a helicopter overhead. It was a very large response by the Emergency Services. it was a very large response by the Emergency Services. Two Police Forces. We a re Emergency Services. Two Police Forces. We are seeing pictures of the arena being emptied in panic and confusion. We believe the arena itself is now clear. Emergency services are dealing with the casualties at the scene. It looks a casino in absolute panic. There were sounds of this explosion. Nobody was quite sure what was happening. People in the arena were talking about a bomb. It obviously engendered a lot of fear. People wa nted engendered a lot of fear. People wanted to get out as soon as they could. A lot of young people they are, some of them perhaps not with their guardians, on their own. We had reports of fights and scuffles and people being injured as they attempted to get out of the arena. We are seeing some pictures now, it appears, maybe this is the foyer area or even the station that it is the area outside the maid main auditorium. And the scene of the incident, people running away of all directions. The theory that this could have been something, i dont wa nt to could have been something, i dont want to say harmless, but a balloon or something from the show itself, seems to be now fading away. Thats right, there were a lot of rumours in the initial stages but it may have been one of these balloons that blew up ora have been one of these balloons that blew up or a speaker. It seems clear now that the source of the explosion was not inside the auditorium. Again, we are seeing pictures from inside the auditorium and although you see panic and confusion here, you see panic and confusion here, you are not seem to 20 30 casualties that we heard about from the eyewitness. You are not seeing the 20 30 casualties. That seems to have been outside, the perimeter. We know a lot of young people were at the concert, a lot of them are separated from their pa rents. Them are separated from their parents. Just looking at messages, people trying to get in touch with their children. It seems like it would be the first time in many of those people had gone out Something Like this on their own. Allan some of the children may be at the nearby hotel. The hotel has taken in about 50 children without a guardian. Some of the children may be at the nearby hotels. Parents will think they were safe at the concept and they were safe at the concept and they would meet them afterwards. That hasnt happened. An enormous task to try and reunite the children with their guardians. The statement from Greater Manchester police, it says that Emergency Services are currently responding to reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena. There are a number of confirmed totality is and others injured. Please avoid the area as First Responders worked tirelessly at the scene. Responders worked tirelessly at the scene. Details of the casualties bureau will be released soon. People must be wondering what happened to their children. Up to 20,000 people could have been at the concert tonight. I am sure some people like the eyewitness we spoke to earlier, he did manage to find his wife and daughter but i am sure that in the can choose shin and chaos, there we re can choose shin and chaos, there were lots of concerned parents tonight. In the confusion and chaos. Let speak to josh elliott. Josh was at the scene. Basically, she finished her last song, dangerous woman. We heard a big bang. People were saying there was too but we only had one. All i can remember is just everybody. It was absolutely hectic, it was henri, everybody was just charging towards the doors it was unreal. I just told anybody to get down. Some of us got down onto the floor. There was a couple of people covered in blood. There was somebody having a fight. I think the reason why of people are panicking is that everybody ran out so fast. People were getting hit into walls and stuff like that. Yeah, it was quite scary. We have been shown a little bit of the footage from inside the arena, josh, while you have been speaking and we can see thousands of people, desperately trying to get out, probably through the excerpts. Clearly a sense of panic and hysteria. Exits. Ive never been in a situation like that, ever, ever in my life. Its. A lot of people say like, it mostly the most horrific and terrifying thing that can ever happen to a person. I will never forget it. Some eyewitnesses are suggesting that been saying people have been injured. Have you seen anything that might suggest that . When we first came out the door, there was a guy covered in blood, just standing really casually as well which was really bizarre. He had a cut right in the middle of his eyebrows. It was covered in blood. There was also a woman outside who looked like she had been hurt. She was on the floor. My friend saw her. Yeah, we saw two people altogether but we dont know how many altogether were hurt. So youre confirming that have been injuries as a result of this but its unclear just how serious the injuries are. I think what the injuries have come from is people trying to get out as quickly as possible and being hurt in that. I dont think it was, well, i dont know what it was. Initially we all thought it was a balloon. Then a speaker blowing, but we just havent got enough. We just dont know what it is. Some people on social media suggesting it was some kind of explosion. Did it sound like that to you . Could itjust have been balloon is going off . During one of the songs, a lot of balloons came down. These balloons are massive. They were bigger than some of the kids. Thats what my initial reaction was, to get on the floor. I was thinking its probably a balloon. I have heard speakers blow before as well. In situations this, you just dont know it is. Its better to be safe than sorry. Of course, josh. Has everybody managed to get out of the arena now . I think everybody is out now. We pretty much just ran. We are back out. By the time we got out, the majority had got out. We were some of the last to get out so we think everybody was out. Do is looking at social media, how many worried parents are out there wondering what to do. Sellar her from a nearby hotel that they have about 50 unaccompanied children they are looking after at the moment yes, we have heard from a nearby hotel. Manchester Victoria Station is right next door to the arena. In normal circumstances, a lot of people would have travelled to and from the arena using the station. We have just had an update from British Transport Police on twitter. We are getting updates from official sources all the time on twitter. British transport police say trans am trams are not running from manchester Victoria Stations will to trains and trams. Please avoid the area while the Greater Manchester Police Responded to an incident at the arena. No more information from them on the cause of the explosion. The earlier said it was in the fourier area. The station that would normally take people to and from is closed. Foyer. We have heard reports that Bomb Disposal Teams have been seen in the area. That does not mean this was our bomb. It doesnt mean it was a criminal explosion. That would be natural in circumstances. But, he would send a bomb Explosives Team to the area if you heard reports of an explosion causing fatalities. Were still unaware of the cause of the explosion. We have heard no official explanation from the police at the moment. All we do know is that it caused multiple fatalities. And we dont have a specific number, do we . We have just been told a number of casualties, a number of fatalities. Greater Manchester Police have said they will be setting up a casualties bureau but it is still only a few hours after the incident. The best information is from the eyewitness that we heard, talking about 20 30 casualties, lying on the ground, injured by the force of the explosion. He was sure several of those had died and others were injured. He talked about himself being blown 20 or 30 feet by the force of the explosion, through the doors. He talked about an Explosion Being in the Ticket Office on the way into the arena, not in the main auditorium itself. And so now we have heard from police that this explosion appears to have been in the foyer. This would have been as people were coming out at the end of a night at the concert. Again, we dont know if the timing was accidental or deliberate but the explosion happened at the end of the concert. I think Ariana Grande had just played an encore. There would have been a large number of people outside the arena, waiting for their loved ones. Many of them would have been unaccompanied children so they would have been people outside the Arena Waiting to meet people at the first people leaving the arena would have been doing so at that time. We we re have been doing so at that time. We were speculating earlier about what might have been the cause of the noise that everybody reported and what made people panic and also how people may have been injured. The fa ct of people may have been injured. The fact of leaving a venue like this are amongst thousands of people in panic could have caused injuries itself, aside from any explosion. Im sure it did. We had reports of people fighting to get out. It was certainly an uncontrolled evacuation. I am sure some people did receive injuries in the fight to leave the arena. It is now clear that the explosion itself caused many more and much more serious casualties. Just one tweet from the North West Ambulance trust saying that if you require our assistance over the next few hours, please bear with us because we have a large number of resources at the incident in manchester so just an indication of all the resources from across the area that are going into dealing with the incident inside Manchester Arena. I spoke to karen for he was at the concert with her family. My daughter and i attended this evening. My husband drove us and they were outside. We were just leaving the concept. Ariana grande had left, the lights had come up, everybody was getting out of their seats and walking towards the stairs. Concert. All of a sudden, this huge sound which sounded like a explosion. And this was just after the end of the concert. What was peoples reaction . Everybody just stopped and turned around and somebody shouted, its a bomb everybody started running, people were trying to push people up the stairs. There was a lady in a wheelchair trying to get away. She was absolutely hysterical, bless her, people werejust pushing past her. I held them back while she actually got out of the stairwell. A person was with her. The problem was, a lot of children were there without parents. There was no one to calm them down some which was just screaming and crying and pushing. There wasnt any smoke, there wasnt a flash. It literally was just a huge sound. Just a huge bang. And as far as you can tell, there was just a single bang . Yes, only one. There were reports of maybe a couple of explosions. Yes, my husband heard a second one outside because they were outside. As he came out of the stairwell, everyone had just gone. It was just chaos, nothing was organised. There were shoes on the floor where people have ran. Shoes had fallen off. It was absolutely awful. Karen, when you heard the noise, was their any doubt in your mind about what it might have been . I must say, i didnt think it was a bomb at first because there was nothing else to go with it. It was just a huge sound in the left hand corner. Obviously, as we came out, you could see people out of the building, all the Emergency Services, down the street you could hear the sirens and then obviously when we got in the car to leave, we heard the awful news that people have actually died there tonight. And you mentioned your husband heard something outside the venue, a double explosion . It could have been, yes. But we only heard the one. It was very, very loud. You said people couldnt make their way out in a calm fashion. It was absolute chaos, was it . Yes, chaos. Yes and i said to children it was a balloon that went off, it was not a bomb, just to try and reassure people and keep people calm. We were being crushed as we were going up the stairs and out through the doors. I wouldnt be surprised if people have been injured through actually being crushed this evening. I was going to ask you, did it seem to you that people were being injured in the process of trying to leave the venue . Yes, yes. People, as they were running, had left the odd shoe just lying around where people werejust running. Lots of stairs going up, going down. It was awful. Karen, whereas you now . What are you doing . We have just got back home, we live in sheffield. Were people congregating outside the venue or were they trying to get away as quickly as possible . Some people were trying to get away outside because there were children on their own. They were teenagers on phones trying to contact their parents. Parents crying on their phones so everybody was try to find each other. Did it seem like people were completely unaware of what was really going on or did it seem like a real atmosphere of confusion and panic . It was. A few people shouted it was a bomb and the Emergency Services were coming down the street and people thought there was obviously something seriously wrong. Did the members of the Emergency Services give any idea of what might have happened when people were asking them . Well, no, they werejust asking people to move away from the building as quickly as possible. Which we did. As soon as i met up with my husband, we just carried on walking and got as far away as possible, as quickly as possible. And how are you all now . Not too bad. I think reality has just sunk in that weve been to a pop concert which would have been a Family Affair and that people have died there tonight. That was karen ford speaking to me a short while ago. We have a little more from police in manchester. Andy moore is here. What are we here in our . Greater Manchester Police have been sending out messages since the incident. This one a few minutes ago says that Emergency Services are continuing to work at the scene of the incident. They ask people to avoid the area and follow their twitter account for updates. We have also heard from the bbcs home affairs corresponded. He said from his sources, the north west Counterterrorism Unit is treating the incident as a possible Terrorist Incident. Senior Counterterrorist Officers are assembling in London Tonight. Correspondent. They are liaising with officials. Casualties could be in double figures. We have had not an official casualties figure from Greater Manchester police. They talked about a number of fatalities in casualties. And they said they were setting up a casualties bureau. We also heard from British Transport Police, they confirmed that the explosion was in the foyer area. Looking at bit is, we get a sense of the magnitude of what has happened inside their. Yes. That tweet from the police said the two hours after the incident, they are still dealing with it. Looking at the pictures. There. The amp and the service has also said please do not contact them u nless said please do not contact them unless it is a life threatening emergency. Those sources of information to give some sense of the scale of the incident. The ambulance service. The Emergency Services are still very much involved with us. The thousands of people inside, many of whom were children. Many of whom, we have been hearing, had to be taken to a nearby hotel. There must be many parents who are just desperately trying to find out if their child is safe . terrible situation. In addition to dealing with the casualties from the explosion, as you say, there will be thousands of young people, some of them children, trying to get in contact with their families and their parents, many of whom may have come along to collect them, and there was that this orderly evacuation. You see the pictures there. Im not sure if that is the area outside the auditorium, the foyer, or perhaps the station nearby, but you can see Emergency Services at the scene. In addition to dealing with the casualties, the Emergency Services also how to deal with perhaps large numbers of unattended children trying to reunite with their parents. And just to recap white our home affairs corresponded, daniel sandford, has said, it he has said that this is being treated as a possible terrorist situation. Correspondent. 0ur early estimates put the number of casualties in double figures. But these are the early stages. More and more eyewitnesses are giving their account. Just reading one line from account. Just reading one line from a girl, there, who said that she heard a bang and saw white smoke. She was with friends and theyjust ran. There must be many accounts thatis, ran. There must be many accounts that is, when you look at what happened inside. That is right. It is now clear that the explosion was not inside the main auditorium. There is no evidence of it in the pictures. Plenty of evidence of panic and confusion and skimming in the aftermath of the explosion. Witnesses said that it came from one side of the arena. British transport police said it was in the foyer area. police said it was in the foyer area. Confusion and screaming. We spoke to an eyewitness who said that he was blown through the doors by the force of the explosion. He talked about seeing 20 or 30 people lying on the ground around him, some of them dad, he was convinced. Many we re very of them dad, he was convinced. Many were very young. Of them dad, he was convinced. Many were very young. He called it an attack on young children. He believed it was an explosion. A bomb. A device of some sort. That has not been confirmed by the police. But he regarded it as a criminal attack. Andy, we have also been hearing from tom mullen, from Bbc Manchester. He has been in the city centre and told us what he saw there. I have been speaking to people here who were upset and shaken. People try to make sense of what happened. People are picking up information from places, looking at their phones. Ive seen many people in tears. I was speaking to one mother who had two children with her. She said she just wanted to get them home. She said she saw people covered in blood. People talked of seeing phones all over the place. People live in their codes and heading for the doors, trying to get as far away as possible, really. People have spoken about things in their minds such as the Butter Clan Attack of last year. Bataclan. People are very panicky. The Police Response is being viewed. There was a point when i was arriving, and the whole streets were just alive with flashing blue lights and helicopters. The Police Response has been huge. It has been a fast and speedy response. Police are now just reassuring people and keeping people away from the area. That is tom mullen from Bbc Manchester there. Just to let you know, we have a live page on our website. Just log on to it our website to get details that are constantly updating. We remind you of what we know about what has happened at Manchester Arena. Police say a number of people have been killed in a possible Terrorist Incident at a pop concert there. One had been performing and we believe there was an explosion, just as the concert came to an end. We believe, or we have been told, that that explosion was in the foyer area of the arena, at the end of the performance by Ariana Grande, the american singer. 0ne witness said he was thrown several metres by a huge blast which shook the building, and when he got up, he saw a number of people sprawled on the floor. There are Bomb Disposal Experts and armed Police Patrolling the area. That has been cordoned off. Any more is with me. That would be a matter of routine in an like this, surely . M would be. But we have also had information from daniel sandford, who is saying that this is being treated as a possible terrorist attack. We have word from eight manchester politician, lucy powell, who said that she has spoken to the mayor, and said that a Major Incident was targeted. A manchester. So that is interesting. That suggests a terrorist motive. She said that her hearts go out to iran and the Emergency Services. So some indication that this could be a Terrorist Incident. Our heart to all. It seems that this was one explosion which came from d foyer of the Manchester Arena referee Manchester Police spoke of an explosion. They did not tell about the plural. The foyer. British rental police, who were British Transport Police spoke about an explosion on the record in the foyer area. explosion on the record in the foyer area. They did not use the plural. In terms of casualties, andy, we have not been told any specific numbers. What we have most recently heard is that perhaps the fatalities are in double figures . That is a suggestion from the Home Affairs Correspondent, daniel sandford. The fact that British Police are setting up a Casualty Bureau suggests that there have been many casualties. We have from one eyewitness, and he spoke about 20 30 people lying on the ground, and he believes many were dead. We have heard from local ambulance services, pleading with people, really, not to bother them with anything less than an absolute emergency, given how overstretched this is making all the services in the area . That is right. The North West Ambulance service said please do not contact them u nless said please do not contact them unless in a life threatening emergency. Theyve sent out service m essa g es to emergency. Theyve sent out Service Messages to their personnel telling them how to get in contact. That suggest this is being treated as a very serious incident with many casualties. That suggests that there is. These images were somewhat later. A lot calmer. We just saw enormous loads of people try to get as far away as quick as they could from the venue . Yes. A lot of panic. Confusion inside. People were rushing for the actors. Some of the eyewitnesses said there was no order in that. Rushing for the exits. People were rushing to get out. We heard about scuffles, we heard about fights. We heard about people receiving injuries in the hurried to get out of the arena and the panic and hysteria that followed. So there could have been some injuries in the evacuation, but many caused by the explosion. The hurry. Evacuation, but many caused by the explosion. The hurry. And were hearing from our Home Affairs Correspondent that this could be a Terrorist Incident . Yes. That is one theory. We believe that Antiterrorism Officers and Home Office Officials are meeting in London Tonight to consider that possibility and get more information about what happened in manchester tonight. Andy, thank you forjoining us. Tonight. Andy, thank you forjoining us. Just to remind you if you are just joining us. Just to remind you if you are justjoining us, a number of people have died will stop others have been injured. Apologies for that. Just bring you this news that a number of people have died and others have been injured following an explosion at Manchester Arena. Hello, iam hello, i am Karin Giannone in london. We start with Breaking News this hour. British Police Confirmed the number of people who have been killed in an explosion at a pop concert in manchester. They are treating it as a possible Terrorist Incident. Witnesses report hearing a blast at the concert by an american singer Ariana Grande at the 21,000 capacity venue. We start with Breaking News from the uk. Police say a number of people have been killed and others injured in an explosion at Manchester Arena theyre treating it as a possible terrosrist incident. Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang in the venue at the end of a concert by the american pop star, Ariana Grande
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