Manchester Arena attack: How the emergency response went wrong
This Is Why
Sky News
4.0 • 552 Ratings
🗓️ 4 November 2022
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Its new report found "significant aspects... went wrong" and "the performance of the emergency services was far below the standard" it should have been.
On the Sky News Daily, Sally Lockwood gets a breakdown of the report from Sky’s Katerina Vittozzi, who has been speaking to victims' families.
The presenter also talks to security journalist Duncan Gardham about the lessons the emergency services will take from Sir John Saunders' report.
Warning: This episode of the Daily contains audio of 999 calls, and descriptions of the aftermath of the May 2017 attack.
Editor - Philly Beaumont
Podcast producers - Rosie Gillott
Digital producer – Emma-Rae Woodhouse.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before we start this episode of the Daily, we just want to warn you that you're going to hear |
| 0:04.2 | some 999 calls from the night of the Manchester Arena bombing, which some people may find |
| 0:09.3 | distressing. |
| 0:11.4 | Ambulance service is the patient breathing? |
| 0:14.1 | At the MEN Arena in Manchester, the bomb just got off in the foyer. |
| 0:18.0 | Okay, just hold the line. |
| 0:19.5 | On the 22nd of May, 2017, at 1031pm, a bomb exploded |
| 0:25.0 | at Manchester Arena. I don't know. There's a lot of people lying around on the floor. They're |
| 0:30.3 | blood everywhere. Just two minutes later, at 1033, the first 999 calls came in. Please send ambulances. It's going as fast as we can. Okay. The first 999 calls came in. The first ambulances. |
| 0:38.4 | The first ambulances arrived within minutes, |
| 0:42.8 | but only three paramedics ever entered the arena. |
| 0:46.4 | Is that correct? |
| 0:48.0 | The MEN arena. |
| 0:50.6 | Miscommunication between emergency services |
| 0:53.5 | meant paramedics, firefighters and police were held back. |
| 0:58.0 | There was smoke, there was people running about screaming. |
| 1:01.0 | There was people just getting off the floor. |
| 1:03.0 | There was people on the floor. |
| 1:05.0 | They were just absolute pandemonium up there. |
| 1:08.0 | Instead, members of the public were left to care for the hundreds of people injured. |
| 1:12.6 | I was the only person with Staffie, but there was more people on the floor than there was help for them. |
| 1:17.6 | It wasn't until 2.45 a.m. more than four hours later, that all the victims were evacuated. |
... |
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