Manchester attack: Salman Abedi's bomb made to kill as many people as possible, inquest hears

Manchester: Bomber Salman Abedi, pictured, made bomb to 'kill as many people as possible'

Manchester bomber Salman Abedi carried a rucksack full of small metal objects that travelled at “high velocity” through the air when detonated, a court heard.

The device appeared to be “designed to kill the largest number of innocent people” inquests into the 22 victims of the Manchester Arena attack was told.

A map shown during a hearing at Manchester Civil Justice Centre suggested the nearest victim, 14-year-old Cheshire schoolgirl Nell Jones, was just five yards from Abedi.

The furthest away was school receptionist Jane Tweddle, 51, some 20 metres away.

Bomber: Salman Abedi

Senior coroner for Manchester Nigel Meadows opened the inquests as brief summaries to the background circumstances of each of the fatalities was outlined.

None of the victim’s families attended the hearing, which was preceded by a minute's silence for those who died in the May 22 bombing and the London Bridge atrocity.

A photograph of each of the victims was shown on a large screen along with their dates of birth and then the map.

The photograph pinpointed Abedi, 22, in the middle of the large foyer area of the indoor arena and where each person was when he detonated the device.

Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims

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Nineteen of the concert-goers died at the scene while three - including the youngest victim, eight-year-old Saffie Roussos - were rushed to hospital but pronounced dead shortly afterwards, the inquests were told.

Detective Superintendent Jonathan Chadwick, the senior identification manager for the incident, told the hearing: "The device [used] had been contained in a rucksack he [Salman Abedi] was carrying on his back.

"It was packed with a massive number of small metal objects which on detonation flew through the air at high velocity in all directions.

"It appears it was designed to kill and maim indiscriminately the largest number of innocent people."

A total of 220 people received medical treatment as a result of the blast, Mr Chadwick said.

A number of those have life-changing injuries and a small number remain critically ill.

Updating the investigation by the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, he said 21 people had been arrested in connection with the attack, of whom 18 have been released and three remain in custody.

He said 32 addresses had been searched and 10 were still under police control.

Each of the 22 inquests was opened and adjourned until November 24 for pre-inquest review hearings.

Concluding the inquests Mr Meadows said: "I must pay tribute to the truly unbelievable dignity and strength of spirit that all the bereaved families have demonstrated in the face of such overwhelming grief."

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