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Manchester Arena explosion: Relatives in desperate search for missing loved ones after suicide bomb

Several teenagers remain unaccounted for as desperate families call for help with the searches

Niamh McIntyre
Tuesday 23 May 2017 08:11 EDT
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15 year old Olivia Campbell is still missing
15 year old Olivia Campbell is still missing (Charlotte Campbell)

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Family and friends are turning to social media in a desperate bid to locate loved ones who are still missing after a terror attack near Manchester Arena last night.

Twenty-two people are confirmed dead and fifty-nine injured after an explosion ripped through crowds as they left an Ariana Grande concert.

The hashtags #MissingInManchester and #Manchestermissing are now being used to track down some of the dozens of loved ones, including a number of teenagers, who are still missing.

Viral posts on social media claim around 50 unaccompanied children are being held at various hotels in the city centre, but Greater Manchester Police said they could not verify these reports.

Holiday Inn was unable to confirm the number of people it was helping. A number of teenagers are still unaccounted for. They include:

Eilidh MacLeod, 14, and Laura MacIntyre,15

The two girls had travelled to Manchester from the Isle of Barra in the Outer Hebrides for last night’s Ariana Grande concert with family members.

It is believed that they stayed in a hotel near the concert venue while the girls attended the event, and has been trying to locate them in hospitals in Manchester without success.

Laura's father Micheal MacIntyre tweeted: "Please...please retweet. Looking for my daughter and her friend. Laura Macintyre and Eilidh Macleod #manchesterattack"

An appeal by Eilidh's aunt Margaret MacNeil has also been shared tens of thousands of times on Facebook.

Eilidh’s brother is traveling to Manchester from Glasgow to look for the girls, their MP, Angus MacNeil, told The Scotsman.

Martyn Hett, 29

Martyn Hett attended the gig with his friend Stuart Aspinall, who shared photos on Facebook in an attempt to track him down.

Stuart said: “The more news that is coming out, the scarier this is getting. There was an explosion at the Ariana Grande concert tonight in Manchester and I haven’t seen my friend Martyn since.”

“He went to the bar about 20 minutes before the end of the concert and got chatting to some girls. As I was leaving, the explosion happened and everyone started running.”

Olivia Campbell, 15

Olivia Campbell went to the concert with her best friend Adam Lawler.

Mr Lawler has been located and is receiving hospital treatment, but Charlotte Campbelll has been unable to locate her 15-year-old daughter.

“She had her phone with her but it’s dead, I don’t know whether she’s lost it in the stampede to get out of there, but she knows by number off by heart so I know she can contact me if she’s able to”, the 36-year-old told the Manchester Evening News.

Friends and relatives are now going into Manchester to help search.

Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19

The young couple travelled to Manchester from South Shields, near Newcastle, for the gig, but have not been heard from since.

Their friend Amy Ridley, told ITV News Tyne Tees that she had been obsessively monitoring social media for news.

"I want to hear my best friend's voice again and make sure her and her boyfriend are okay," she said.

"I love them both and wouldn't know what to do without them. I've been up all night messaging, sharing, phoning everybody and anybody to find them. I pray and plead for everyone to get sharing to help find these two amazing people."

Wendy Fawell, 50

Wendy Fawell, who attended the concert at Manchester Arena with her daughter Charlotte and friends. She is believed to have been near the exit area shortly before the blast.

Greg Mulholland, MP for Otley, where Ms Fawell lives, tweeted: “deeply worried that a constituent from Otley is still unaccounted for in last night's atrocity. Thoughts & prayers with family & friends.”

Courtney Boyle and Philip Tron

Courtney Boyle attended the concert with her stepfather Philip Tron. Courtney’s mother, Deborah Hutchinson, said she had travelled to Manchester on Tuesday to search for the pair.

Angelika and Marcin Kils

Angelika Kils and her husband Martin are still missing. Their daughter Alex posted a picture of the couple taken just hours before the concert, in an appeal for information about their whereabouts.

Writing on Facebook, Alex Klis said: “Anyone who is in any safe place or hospital in Manchester, if anyone comes across my parents please please let me know as they've been missing ever since the attack, this is a picture taken tonight so this is exactly what they were wearing.”

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