Manchester Arena Inquiry: Mum noticed 'odd' bomber before blast

Twenty-two people died in the attack on 22 May 2017

A mother who saw the Manchester Arena bomber minutes before he detonated his device has told the inquiry into the attack about "desperately" searching for her child in the resulting "chaos".

Sarah Nellist told the Manchester Arena Inquiry she was near the box office in the foyer when the blast happened.

She said she had thought Salman Abedi "looked odd" prior to the bombing.

The inquiry also heard from Dr Darah Burke, who spoke about the shrapnel injuries his family all suffered.

Dr Burke had been crossing the foyer with his wife and daughter when Abedi detonated his bomb.

Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds more were injured in the attack on 22 May 2017.

'Black powder paint'

Ms Nellist, who was injured and knocked to the ground by the force of the blast, told the inquiry she spotted the bomber dressed all in black.

The mother, from North Wales, said he was carrying a large rucksack waiting near her as thousands of "excited young girls" began streaming out of the arena doors following an Ariana Grande concert.

"I thought maybe he was there for a sister and he did not want to be there," she said, adding that she then saw him detonate the bomb "in the corner of my eye".

The public inquiry into the bombing has been hearing evidence about the emergency response

"The only way I can describe it, it was like black powder paint," she said.

"A high-pitched sound [which] I have never experienced anything like before and the heat was just unbelievable," she said.

"I was trying to stand. There was a loud fire alarm going off. I couldn't really hear properly.

"I ran to the concourse, desperately trying to search for my daughter and niece.

"I was trying to call my daughter, she answered her phone, but I could not hear her."

She added that she had then managed to meet up with her 17-year-old daughter and six-year-old niece outside the arena and they made their way to their car.

Shrapnel wounds

Later, Dr Burke, from Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester, told the inquiry that he heard a loud bang and was "thrown forward slightly".

"I went into a crouching position," he said.

"Everything seemed quite dark, almost debris in the air.

"[My wife] Ann was standing up, but not straight [and my 10-year-old daughter] Catherine was on the floor.

"Catherine was screaming."

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Dr Burke suffered a shrapnel injury which fractured his right leg, his wife had shrapnel injuries to her thigh and a deep wound in her heel, and their daughter suffered 16 separate shrapnel injuries to her arms and legs.

The 10-year-old has also been left permanently deaf in her right ear.

The inquiry was told after escaping the room, Dr Burke attempted to go back and help but could not because of the severity of his injuries, so instead helped direct police and emergency responders until he and his family were taken to hospital.

The inquiry continues.

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