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 own accord when they saw the casualties and the ambulance and realised the gravity of the situation. Many fans also worked prodigiously in attempts to revive the dead and the dying, in some cases their own relatives and friends. Artificial respiration, mouth to mouth respiration and cardiac massage were applied by the skilled and the unskilled but usually in vain. Those capable of survival mostly came round of their own accord. The rest were mostly doomed before they could be brought out and treated.

There was an urgent need to get casualties off the pitch and to hospital. There were six stretchers in the first aid room and three in the St John's ambulance. They were quickly brought into use. Then the fans improvised by tearing down the hoardings around the edge of the pitch and against the stands so that lengths of board could be used as stretchers. Improvising in this way, parties of fans and police ran repeatedly the length of the pitch bearing casualties to the north-east corner. A number were dead on arrival there.

In the Control Room

Mr Duckenfield stayed in the control room. Chief Inspector McRobbie was there in civilian clothes as an observer. Mr Duckenfield sent him down to the track to tell a policewoman at gate 1 to admit those displaced from the centre pens. Mr Duckenfield did not realise there were injuries until he saw someone laid on the pitch. Even then, he did not realise the nature of the problem or its scale.

Mr Murray returned from his attempt to stop the match and Mr Duckenfield sent him down again to clear the pitch and assess the situation. A message was broadcast requesting fans to clear the pitch. This was because Mr Duckenfield could not from the control room see clearly what was happening for the milling and increasing numbers.

The Assistant Chief Constable (Operations), Mr Jackson, had attended the match in civilian clothes as a guest of the Club. He came from his seat in the south stand to ask what had happened. Mr Duckenfield was unable to say; he did not tell Mr Jackson that the exit gates had been opened on his authority. Mr Jackson went down to the pitch to discover the situation.

At 3.06 pm Mr Duckenfield, still primarily concerned about public order, caused a message to be sent to Headquarters asking for Operation Support. That was a call for all available additional police resources to come to the ground to strengthen the police presence.

Mr Jackson was told by Mr Greenwood that there were casualties and returned immediately to control to make sure emergency services were alerted. Meanwhile, Mr Murray had seen the plight of those behind the fence. He radioed to control that a fleet of ambulances was required. He also asked for a Tannoy broadcast to those in the pens to move back but there is no clear evidence that it was made.

Only when Mr Duckenfield received the request for a fleet of ambulances did he realise the nature and gravity of the situation. Then, supported by Mr Jackson, he caused messages to be sent converting Operation Support into calls for the Major Disaster Plan.

No Information

Apart from the message to clear the pitch and the belated call for medical assistance about 3.30 pm, no information or advice was broadcast on the public address system. Mr Duckenfield feared that the crowd might turn hostile or might all attempt to leave together thereby hampering the emergency services if they were given information about what had happened. The result was that apart from those close enough at the west end to see the terrible truth for themselves, the majority of the crowd were left in ignorance. Many, especially Nottingham supporters in the Kop, still thought there had been a pitch invasion or other misbehaviour by Liverpool fans. They continued singing and chanting incongruously. This infuriated some Liverpool fans who were already distraught. A few began to run towards the Kop end. The police feared violence might result on top of the existing disaster. Accordingly, they deployed a large number of officers to form a line across the width of the pitch at the Kop end and advance up to the halfway line sweeping any Liverpool fans back as they moved. There the line stood as an insurance against disorder but doing nothing. Other officers were posted to the perimeter track facing the north stand for the same purpose. To those distressed and distraught who wanted urgent action, this large contingent of passive officers was seen as an affront. Feelings against the police intensified.

Misinformation

At about 3.15 pm, Mr Graham Kelly, Chief Executive of the FA, Mr Kirton also of the FA and Mr Graham Mackrell, Secretary of Sheffield Wednesday, went to the control room for information. Mr Duckenfield told them he thought there were fatalities and the game was likely to be abandoned. He also said a Rh