Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Harrowing and emotive photographs capturing the aftermath of the 1996 IRA bomb in Manchester have been released for the first time.
The archived images show the shocking extent of the destruction caused by the bomb, which devastated the city centre and showered shoppers with masonry and glass.
The powerful shots, taken by Greater Manchester Fire Service officers, show groups of grief-wracked emergency workers sifting through the rubble in the hours after the blast.
The devastated remains of a holiday shop, a shoe store and a nearby restaurant are also pictured. It is believed that a third of the city’s shops were affected by the blast, which threw rubble half a mile from its epicentre.
The images were archived in the Salford headquarters of Manchester’s fire service, but they are being released today – 15 June – to mark the 18th anniversary of the bombing.
In the hours after the explosion, shocked officers embarked on the grim task of searching for casualties, at first mistaking shop-window mannequins for bodies.
The 3,3000lb device was the largest bomb to explode on mainland Britain. Miraculously, no one was killed – although 212 were injured by falling debris.
The explosive was hidden in a lorry parked on Corporation Street, outside Marks & Spencer and the Arndale shopping centre, in Manchester’s city centre.
It detonated at 11.20am, on 15 June 1996, nearly two hours after Granada TV studios received a call claiming that there was a bomb at the corner of Corporation Street and Cannon Street.
The caller, who had an Irish accent, relayed an IRA codeword so that police would know the threat was genuine.
Special officers used to control football crowds were drafted in to carry out a mammoth evacuation of up to 80,000 shoppers and workers in Manchester.
By 11.10am, ten minutes before the bomb detonated, a cordon had been established about a quarter of a mile from the bomb.
But the sheer force of the blast meant that rubble was strewn half a mile from the blast site, showering some evacuated shoppers with masonry.
On 20 June 1996, the IRA claimed responsibility for the bombing, which has caused £1.1 billion worth of damage as of today, and stated that it "sincerely regretted" causing injury to civilians
The men responsible for the blast have still not been found – and in 2006, Greater Manchester Police admitted there was no realistic chance of prosecuting those responsible.
The 69 images were uploaded to the fire service’s Flickr account.
Watch the video of the blast, captured by a Greater Manchester police helicopter, below:
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments