Ariana Grande's drummer's 'disbelief' at Manchester attack

Ariana Grande’s drummer has described the confusion and disbelief which followed the bomb blast at the singer’s Manchester gig.

A lone suicide bomber detonated a device on Monday evening (22May17) as fans exited the English city’s Manchester Arena, killing 22 and injuring at least 59 more. Young fans Saffie Rose Roussos, eight, and 18-year-old Georgina Callander have so far been named as victims.

Sharing a statement with Fox News anchor Steve Chenevey, drummer Aaron Spears explained the confusion that followed the bomb blast.

“We finished the show and were walking back to our dressing rooms and BOOM!!! We could hear people. We had no idea what it was… There was all kinds of speculation as to what was going on,” he said in the text message to the Fox News reporter. “Like 5 minutes after getting to the room, security came in and informed us that we had to evacuate the building immediately… it was then that we realized this was serious.

“Initially we thought that the sound was all kinds of things, but it didn’t hit that this was a bomb until we were evacuated and they told us exactly what was going on… It’s so heartbreaking because so many little ones attend our shows… I just keep thinking about them.

“I’m extremely grateful that no one on the touring crew was physically hurt but this painful memory will live with us all forever… I’m still just in disbelief… It’s so surreal.”

Fellow concertgoers also spoke of hearing a loud bang, with many believing it was balloons popping as Ariana had released giant balloons as part of her show.

The 23-year-old singer, who took to her Twitter feed to tell fans she was “broken”, has reportedly scrapped plans to play in London, and TMZ claim she’s also planning to reschedule numerous other European dates on her Dangerous Woman Tour.