‘It was like a scene from a horror movie’: we spoke to a Leeds student who was at Manchester Arena last night

Megan Slack, an English and Creative Writing student at Leeds Beckett, found herself at the site of the Manchester arena terror attack last night (22nd May) following the Ariana Grande concert, when a lone attacker detonated a nail bomb at around 10:30pm.

The attack is being described as one of the worst ever witnessed in Manchester. As it stands, 22 people are dead – the youngest of which was just 8 years old – and a further 59 have been injured. The scene has been described as absolute chaos, but the people of Manchester have rallied together to provide support and help to people in need.

We spoke to Megan about her experiences at the venue, and her response was chilling. “After Ariana’s final song, I began walking towards the doors to the entrance of the arena and the whole room in front of me just turned a bright amber / yellow colour. The bang was so loud it shook the whole room, it was almost like it had caused an earthquake, I had never heard anything so chilling.”

Meg is on the left

‘The place was full of people screaming’

Immediately after the explosion Megan remembers that she knew “instantly it was a bomb because nothing else could possibly create such a powerful explosion. As we all ran I had such a fear that another explosion had been planted and that was going to to go off too. I thought I was potentially running into the trap of another bomb which was the worst part of the experience for me. I didn’t look at the damage or injuries caused by the explosion because I was so quick to run away I never looked back.”

‘It was like a scene from a horror movie’

Police response time was tremendously quick, with the first police arriving “even as [Megan] ran out of the arena which could not have been more than one minute after the explosion. As we ran down the streets of Manchester I saw more police cars and ambulances than I had ever seen in one place before. I even heard police helicopters above us which was when I first began to realise the extent of what was happening”. What struck her most though were the parents waiting by their cars outside, with a “frantic look waiting for their families to come out of the doors. People were still screaming and crying and calling out for their friends”.

The true reality of the situation set in for most of us this morning, as did the heroic way the city of Manchester came together to help each other, and the wounded and the helpless. As Meg says, “it is easy to look at the event and see nothing but evil, I believe the love from everyone in the city outshines an individual’s evil actions. Strangers offering their rooms and free taxis are just some of the example of a city coming together to show that it will not be defeated in such a tragedy”.

‘It seems like a really bad nightmare’

Footage of the event is evidently going to be triggering for those involved, and for Megan this is exactly true. She is avoiding all news footage about the attack at this point because she knows “it will trigger the memories again. I keep reliving the noise of the explosion and the screams of the people, I will never ever forget the panic which was compressed into such a small space at that moment.

“I feel truly relived that I managed to make it out and I will be okay eventually. I am so overwhelmed by the amount of love and concern I received from friends who are studying in Manchester, or who knows someone in Manchester who all offered to come and meet me and offered me a place to stay.

“I just feel so sickened, my heart truly goes out to the victims families, those who are still missing and those who were physically injured. I pray for Manchester, that it will continue to stay strong in the face of this disaster, and that it will continue to come together to give strength to those who need it the most”.