Mom with girls at concert thought: 'We're going to die'

Mom with girls at concert thought: 'We're going to die'

Mom with girls at concert thought: 'We're going to die', Chloe Nayman's first thought was: "We're going to die." Then she recovered her composure and did her best to get her children and others out of the concert venue that had just been attacked by a suicide bomber Monday night, killing 22 people and wounding dozens.

"Everyone was running around shrieking and screaming and people were getting pushed left, right and center," Nayman said on Tuesday, speaking outside her hotel that sits directly across from the music venue.

"I thought what if there's a second bomb because I know sometimes that happens and I just wanted to get to safety for my girls," the 29-year-old homemaker added.

Her two daughters are Halle, 12, and Cherry, 10. Cherry is the bigger fan of Ariana Grande, the American pop singer who was performing at the Manchester Arena when the suicide bomb detonated. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

"I started crying because it went from a really good night to a really bad night," Halle said. "As soon as it happened everyone just started running and pushing, and as a kid that is really scary. You just panic and don't know what to do."

The family drove from their home in Middlesbrough, a town about two hours away. The trip had been planned, as Nayman put it, "for ages."

It was Cherry's first concert. Glitter still sparkled in her hair as she remembered the stampede when the crowd rushed from the 21,000-capacity venue after the explosion.

"My mum was holding onto to us as tight as she could. On the way out we saw a boy who was probably about 6 and he got pushed over and people were just trampling on him," said Cherry, wearing a Beauty and the Beast T-shirt.

Outside, the family found an unrelated girl and boy who lost their parents and took them to their hotel. A paramedic located the boy's father, who was in the hospital with a bad chest injury. They did not know for sure what happened to the girl.  

In appreciation for their help, the hotel's manager provided a refund of their room "as a tiny measure of my thanks." 

"We can never put into words how grateful we are for your support and kindness and for helping to reunite two children with their family," the hotel's management wrote. "It's at times like this that you realize the strength of a city." 

Nayman said she did not think her children would be back in school Wednesday. "We're all on auto-pilot and need some time. You never, ever think you are going to be in a situation like this."

Dawn Price, from Bolton, was at the concert with her daughter and their friends. "I'm really shaken and can't process what happened as so many people were there with children," she said.

"There was a big bang just as it finished and everyone started to run back into the arena," she added. "Then seconds later people started to run back in from another exit."

Majid Khan, 22, who went with his sister to see Grande perform, described the scene as a "huge bomb-like bang" that went off, sparking panic.

"We were all trying to flee the arena," he said. "Everyone was just running to any exit they could find as quickly as they could."

Laura Ramsden, from Radcliffe, was one of the last people evacuated from the Manchester Arena. Ramsden, who was with two friends, suffers from cerebral palsy and was in disabled seating with her electric wheelchair.

"The concert had finished and we were getting ready to leave and then there was a huge bang and a strong burning smell," she said. "People started running and shouting that there was a bomb. People were getting shoved and pushed everywhere."

She said that eventually stewards carried her down the stairs. "I saw a number of people with blood coming from the head and running down their faces," she said.

Oliver Jones, 17, went to the concert with his sister and was in the bathroom when the blast went off.

"The bang echoed around the foyer of the arena and people started to run," he said. "I saw people running and screaming towards one direction and then many were turning around to run back the other way."

"You see this on the news all the time and never expect it to happen to you. I just had to run and make sure me and my sister were safe," he added.