Mum of Manchester Arena victim said ‘let me die so I can look after her’ after waking from coma to hear daughter died
THE mum of the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena attack said she begged her husband to let her die so she could look after her daughter – after waking from a coma to find out she had been killed.
Saffie-Rose Roussous, 8, was a victim of the bomb blast at the Ariana Grande concert which killed 22 people and left her mum Lisa seriously injured.
The schoolgirl was at the concert with her mum and older sister Ashlee Bromwich – who were rushed to hospital with injuries and lost contact with Saffie.
Saffie was carried to ambulances by members of the public.
A heartbroken Lisa told an inquiry of the moment she awoke from a coma and was told by her husband that Saffie had died.
Mrs Roussous said: “The day I woke up from the coma, Andrew held my hand and looked up at me. I instantly knew. ‘Saffie has gone hasn’t she’ and he replied yes.
“I cried and begged and pleaded with him to let me die too. ‘I can look after her’ I cried.
“I did die that day. Inside I am dead. My heart is so heavy it weighs me down.”
Tearful Lisa said Saffie played centre stage in her family and if she had to choose three words to describe her daughter, from Leyland, Lancashire, it would be “beautiful, captivating and kind”.
She said: “She had this amazing magnetic personality that drew people to her of all ages and I would just watch with wonder.”
Saffie’s father Andrew Roussous told chairman Sir John Saunders that “lessons should have been learnt” after the 7/7 and 9/11 terror attacks.
He said: “What we are now going through, the failures we are all listening to, and excuses we will all sit through, needs to stop.
“Enough is enough sir.”
Mr Roussous added: “Saffie’s life is not a practice exercise for the security service and emergency services.”
The heartbroken dad earlier said his daughter was “perfection”, adding: “It’s like the best artists got together and drew her from top to toe, with a heart so pure, so innocent, she melted people’s hearts.
“Never will there be another Saffie, never will there be another kiss, a cuddle or smile.”
I have dreams of Saffie waiting for me at the school gate and wake up and it isn’t real
Saffie's best friend
Meanwhile, Saffie’s best friend told the inquiry: “I have dreams of Saffie waiting for me at the school gate and wake up and it isn’t real.
“I feel torn, I feel broken and I miss her so much, so much.”
It comes as the bereaved families whose loved ones were killed in the terror attack in 2017 have shared how the tragedy has impacted their lives.
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The commemorative part of the hearings will conclude this week.
The public inquiry is set to examine the background to the attack on 22 May 2017 by suicide bomber Salman Abedi and the response of the emergency services.
It will conclude next spring.
