Panic on busy tram after masked man lets off ‘dizzying gas’
Passengers were left feeling dizzy and ‘panicking’ after a masked man let off a ‘strong smelling gas’ on a busy tram.
Tram passengers were left scared after a man reportedly discharged a mystery gas on board a Manchester Metrolink tram last night.
It is thought to be butane gas, Manchester Evening News reports.
Lauren, who only gave her first name, was travelling from Market Street to Bury on the tram when a man boarded her carriage at about 8.30pm at Queen’s Road wearing ‘an industrial gas mask and blue backpack on.’
She said the man, who she estimated to be in his 30s, got looks from people because of his ‘large black mask’ and a woman in front of her appeared to be ‘panicking.’
Lauren told Metro: ‘I was sat across from him and watched him fidgeting, taking his back pack on and off looking for something and he seemed anxious and wasn’t looking at anyone – that’s when I knew something bad was going to happen.
‘I then watched him go inside his pocket and saw a silver metal tube in his pocket.
‘I heard the woman in front of me tell her friend she wanted to get off but her friend said it was a vape – I was thinking the same but then within 30 seconds I saw him twist it and heard the gas leaking out.
‘Within a few seconds, I was hit with a strong gas smell and immediately got up and said what is that and ran to the other end of the busy tram.’
The 23-year-old said the man ‘wasn’t speaking or reacting, he just stood there.’
Confused passengers quickly got off at the next Crumpsall stop, but many stayed, including the driver, stayed on ‘not knowing what happened’ although the others ‘shouted them to get off.’
Lauren said she ran away from the platform crowd as she didn’t know ‘where the man was,’ but thought he might be still on the tram before calling her mum.
To her shock, the man appeared near her by the road where he ‘was pacing up and down the road in front of the tram stop on the phone to someone.’
He then ‘went part down the ramp and was looking at everyone who had gotten off on the platform and telling who he was on the phone to.’
Lauren said she thinks the man ‘wasn’t acting alone.’
The ordeal left her ‘very shaken up’ and struggling to sleep because ‘all I could think was how badly it could have turned out.’
Lauren, who takes the tram twice a day to get to work, said she is now worried about getting to tram as the incident showed ‘how quickly and easily this can happen and how no one says anything.’
Passengers also reported another incident on Thursday which left a passenger feeling ‘a bit sick,’ according to the MEN.
Another passenger posted on social media saying he was on board the Bury tram when the incident unfolded yesterday, which made everyone ‘worry and panic.’
After the alleged incident on Thursday, the suspect is thought to have gotten off at Abraham Moss stop, the outlet said.
He said people ‘started to run down the tram away from him, the smell and the effect of whatever substance he released was extremely strong I nearly lost consciousness after five seconds’ before the tram pulled up at Crumpsall.
A Transport for Greater Manchester spokesperson told Metro: ‘We are aware of these incidents on Metrolink and are assisting Greater Manchester Police with their enquiries at this time.
‘The safety of our Passengers and staff is a core priority – everyone has the right to feel safe and be safe across the Bee Network.
‘Through the TravelSafe partnership our close working relationship with Greater Manchester Police is of vital importance, and we’ll keep working together to continuously improve safety across the network.’
We approached Greater Manchester Police for a comment.
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