A man who fought to save a victim at the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack has said the response to the bombing was 'all wrong' and that 'big mistakes' were made.
Survivor Ron Blake spoke to the BBC ahead of the publication of the long-awaited second report on the response today. For the first time, he told how he tried to save John Atkinson, 28, in the suicide bombing after the Ariana Grande concert.
Mr Blake was praised for his 'heroic' efforts, but Mr Atkinson tragically died from his injuries. He was not seen by paramedics for 47 minutes, which Mr Blake said 'seemed to last forever'.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know as second report into Manchester Arena terror attack is published today
Mr Blake told the BBC he believed those in charge that night had 'got it all wrong'. He called 999 less than a minute after the explosion and, despite being injured himself and having no first aid training, tended to Mr Atkinson after seeing he was losing a lot of blood.
He used his wife's belt as a tourniquet, having only ever seen it done on television, and held it on Mr Atkinson's leg for almost an hour. The ambulance, fire and police services have all apologised but Mr Blake said that did not mean anything to him.
He said waiting for help 'seemed to last forever'. He said: "It just seemed to last forever. It seemed to go on and on and on and no-one was coming so I just kept trying to talk to John.
"He kept saying 'I'm going to die, aren't I?' I kept saying said 'no you are not'."
Mr Atkinson was carried out of the arena foyer on a metal barrier as a makeshift stretcher via the stairs to the casualty clearing station at the adjoining Manchester Victoria railway station. Mr Blake said he left him with a paramedic, and he was 'still talking' so he thought he would survive.
He spoke of his shock at finding out Mr Atkinson had died when he was being treated in hospital for his own injuries the next day. "It was on the news in the waiting room," he said.
"I went outside... and just broke down."
He added: "I hope I did what I could. I did what anybody else would have done."
Mr Atkinson's family told the public inquiry into the atrocity which claimed the lives of 22 that he was 'badly let down by some in the emergency services'. He had to wait an hour and 29 minutes to be loaded onto an ambulance.
Chaired by Sir John Saunders, the inquiry into the attack began in 2019 - with his findings to be divided into three sections. Today, the second volume will be released to survivors and families of the victims, before being made available to the public, and will examine the role of emergency services that night.
The victim's families, politicians and survivors are all expected to react to the lengthy report, which is likely to highlight what has been described as a 'catastrophic' response by the region's emergency services. Greater Manchester Fire Service, Greater Manchester Police and North West Ambulance Service are all braced for criticism in the report, which will be available from 2.30pm today (November 3).
Sir John has been urged by their families that eight-year-old girl Saffie-Rose Roussos, the youngest victim, and John Atkinson, 28, could have survived Salman Abedi's suicide attack with better treatment.
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
- 'It's disgusting' - Volunteers feeding breakfast to the homeless were slapped with parking fines
- 'Monstrous' metal structure 'The Rocket' that plagued angry homeowners will be ripped down
- Oldham headteacher steps down after historic tweets emerge containing racial and derogatory comments
- New £20m link road opens connecting M62 with Greater Manchester's 'Atom Valley'
- Everything you need to know as second report into Manchester Arena terror attack is published today
