THE father of a Derry teenager working at the Manchester Arena when the bomb went off has told of his fears for her safety.
Niamh Woods (19) was one of several Irish people working at the Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.
Her father, Sean, said he went through an agonising two hours before finding out she was safe.
“They were in a locked room because they were doing the takings from the bar and this locked room had two double glass doors and when the explosion went off her words were ‘Daddy, I never heard anything as loud in my whole life.'
“Within seconds she saw people frantically banging on her door to try and get in to get away from the explosion area. People who were running past had blood running from their faces and, as she said, their clothes drenched in blood."
A first year forensic psychology student at Manchester University, the teenager had a part time job at Manchester Arena and Mr Woods said he and his wife Bernie went through an “unbearable” wait before his daughter managed to get in touch with a friend’s phone.
“I have never had that emotion in my life before and I never, ever want to have it again,” he said.
Another Derry man, Emmett McGilloway, said he was also working quite close to the blast on Monday night.
He said: “The whole ground shook and everyone just started running; it was surreal.”
Meanwhile, a Derry man working as a paramedic in Manchester has described how he treated dozens of shrapnel victims outside the arena.
Harry White, from Strathfoyle in Derry, worked with the injured through the night after being called in under the city’s major incident response plan.
“Many of them had nails and screws embedded in their skin," he said.
"People began to find out that their friends or family members had been killed and the scene was very traumatic.”
Mr White said when he arrived he found people in shock, and the area was strewn with clothes and was being patrolled by armed police.
However, he praised the spirit shown by people in the area, saying hotels opened their doors and a McDonalds' restaurant provided free food and drinks.
He said emergency workers had undergone training for such an incident and he was able to follow the plans.
Mr White said everyone knew that such an attack was possible but he was shocked it could happen at an event with so many young people.
"It was just young people going to a concert, children waiting to meet their parents," he said.
In all, Mr White’s team treated 59 people, preparing them to be sent on to hospital.
He added that NHS bosses in Manchester have organised support and counselling for paramedics and emergency staff.
