BACKPACK OF DEATH
Pic shows thousands of lethal nuts and bolts inside Manchester Arena bomber’s backpack
WARPED Manchester bomber Salman Abedi is caught on CCTV with a rucksack packed with thousands of nuts just seconds before the deadly blast.
The haunting image shows the 22-year-old stood in crowds at the Ariana Grande gig wearing the homemade explosive.
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Just 19 seconds later, Abedi blew himself up killing 22 innocent people - including an eight-year-old girl - as shrapnel tore through the arena.
The image was shown to jurors at the trial of his brother Hashem Abedi, 22, who is accused of helping him plan the attack on May 22, 2017 that left hundreds of others injured.
The Old Bailey heard how Salman Abedi waited for around an hour in the Manchester Arena foyer before parents and children spilled out of the gig at 10.30pm.
One minute later, he detonated the bomb as 359 people stood in the City Room - with 19 declared dead at the scene.
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Among debris found after the blast were 1,675 nyloc nuts, 156 flanged nuts, 663 plain nuts and 11 fragments from Salman Abedi and his victims.
There were also screws recovered by investigators but they were so damaged they couldn't be counted, the court was told.
Images shown to jurors also feature charred clothing recovered from the scene and labels from vegetable oil used to make the bomb.
Among other debris were fragments from a money tin decorated with the design of a £5 note also used to maim innocent gig-goers.
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The youngest victim, Saffie-Rose Roussos, eight, suffered more than 70 external injuries, with 17 metal nuts in her body, and died from blood loss due to multiple injuries.
Student Chloe Rutherford, 17, suffered more than 100 injuries, including a brain injury which would have left her immediately unconscious, the court was told.
Jurors also heard Salman Abedi's body was later recovered in four parts and he had to be identified by his DNA and fingerprints.
Forensic investigators later found more than 2,000 nuts from the homemade bomb at the scene.
The court was told yesterday Salman Abedi went to the arena four days before to a Take That gig to scope it out.
He then left for the nearby Arndale shopping centre where he bought batteries and a blue Kangol suitcase so he could move his bomb-making equipment to the flat he rented in Manchester city centre.
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Hashem Abedi has told the jury he is not an extremist and had no idea of his brother's plan.
He denies 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the injured survivors, and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions.
The trial continues.
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