right Liverpool The bomb attack described the moment when they tried to rescue the suspect and the taxi driver a few seconds after the explosion.
A delivery driver named Liam revealed how he tried to “catch” the attacker Emad Al Swimin from the car Hospital on Sunday.
At the same time, security guard Darren Knowles rushed to help taxi driver David Perry after he escaped from the vehicle, and said that Mr. Perry was screaming: “Someone bombed me. I want my wife.”
When the bomb exploded, 21-year-old Liam and his 20-year-old partner Stephen were parked in a car a few meters away from the taxi.
Liam told the BBC: “The explosion just happened and the hospital building shook.
“Then I approached the car, I could smell the smoke, I could see the person behind.
“I went to catch him, but he was quickly swallowed by flames.
“If I don’t let myself catch on fire, I can’t catch him.”
Stephen, a student mental health nurse, added: “I thought,’Is there a baby behind?’ We found a passenger, so everyone was screaming ‘999!'”
“Honestly, it’s scary to think about how things might be different. You’re really struggling [thinking] ‘Will this happen again? Will I overcome this? I told myself and my family that I would not let it affect me.
“It won’t bind me at all…I’m really lucky to be alive.”
Mr. Knowles described hearing a “loud noise” when the explosion occurred, and said he thought it was a mechanical malfunction before seeing Mr. Perry rushing down from the taxi.
He told the Mirror: “He was panicked and screamed,’Someone bombed me. I want my wife’.
“He tried to tell us,’There are passengers, there are passengers.’
“I tried to say to him,’Is he still there?’ but he said,’He tried to blow me up.'”
Mr. Knowles added: “Everyone calls me a hero, but I’m just doing my job.
“When I realized how close I was to being blown up, my hands were shaking. But you don’t think, you just think.”
Al Swealmeen, a 32-year-old Christian born in Iraq, was killed in the explosion while Mr. Perry was injured and escaped.
Officials described how Al Swealmeen rented a property in Liverpool seven months ago, and has “at least” since then made “related purchases” for his homemade bombs.
On Wednesday, a bomb disposal truck from Royal Logistics and a fire truck arrived at Boaler Street after the cordon on nearby Sutcliffe Street was extended, where police officers believed Al Swealmeen had previously lived.
Assistant Sheriff Russ Jackson said several suspicious packages were found and inspected by an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) officer before being found by the forensic team.
The cordon was later removed from Boaler Street, but Mr. Jackson stated that the public may still see EOD personnel in the area on Thursday.
Merseyside Police Chief Serena Kennedy told the Liverpool Echo that on Christmas Eve, high-visibility police work will continue around the city to appease residents and tourists.
A search was also conducted on a property on Rutland Avenue.
Mr. Jackson confirmed reports of asylum seekers suffering from mental illness, which is being explored as part of the investigation.
Al Swealmeen, whose asylum application was rejected after arriving in the UK in 2014, filed a new appeal against his asylum application when he died.
