Twenty-two people were killed and around 60 injured in what police believe is a suicide attack by a person at a concert arena in the northern English city of Manchester overnight.
Greater Manchester, home to around half a million people is one of Britain’s most diverse cities, with around 14% of the population in central Manchester with an Asian background, including many with Indian roots.
“There is a terrible sense of shock about what happened last night,” says Mrs. Raj Dutta, the general secretary of the Indian Association of Manchester who has lived in the city area since 1970, including when an Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb hit the city centre in 1996 injuring over 200 people.
“People are just waking up and finding out what happened, getting calls from friends and family in India concerned to see they are safe. You just don’t go to a concert with your children and expect something like this. We hope and pray for the families of those affected. I am sure the city will stand together and support each other.”
Manchester Arena explosion - in pictures
Sikh Federation (UK) responds
Bhai Amrik Singh, Chair of the Sikh Federation (UK) responding to news of the terror attack at the Manchester Arena said:
“The lives of 22, including children have horrifically been cut short by this evil act of terror. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those killed and injured in this vile attack.”
“The suicide bomber who mindlessly targeted innocent young people in the Manchester Arena must have been deranged. The brave emergency services have once again responded quickly and professionally to this appalling incident that many would not have previously faced.”
“I would like to applaud Sikhs living and working in Manchester who immediately came to the support of those caught up in the terror attack. This ranged from Sikh taxi drivers who drove people away from the danger to our Gurdwaras who opened their doors to help strangers.”
Gurudwaras work together
There are five gurdwaras in Manchester, which have all been working together around the clock to provide food shelter and support to those impacted by the horrific attack on the arena.
“When it all happened it was chaos and people were fleeing and the Guru Harkrishnan Sahib Ji Gurdwara which was near the venue started taking people in from the outside, giving them a hot drink, somewhere to sit, a place of shelter where they wouldn’t be attacked,” said Prakash Singh, president of the Sri Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara.
“Today we are all carrying on with this work, providing langhar, and food and drink to those who have been in the Town Hall and working through the night. The doors are open in all five Gurdwaras for people who need a place to sit, or are looking for people not accounted for. We work as one team and when something happens we stand together and pull in our resources and work together with one unit,” he said.
He added that while people were continuing with their business, there was a tense atmosphere in the city, but remained hopeful that the city would not be divided by the attack.
Helplines
The Indian High Commission has set up a help line for any Indians caught up in the Manchester attack. (0091) 0208 6295950 or info.london@hcilondon.in. They can also call the Consul General in Birmingham on 0101 212 3217. No Indian citizens are among the dead, though it is too soon to confirm if any Indians are among the injured.
The incident came a day after the Indian High Commissioner and members of the Indian community gathered outside the Indian High Commission to take the Anti-Terrorism Pledge, alongside other missions across the world. “Terrorism leaves no one unscathed. We have been suffering acts of terrorism for decades. We know how it affects family and innocents,” he said. “No country and no people should shelter terrorists or promote or appease terrorists,” he said before taking the pledge.
