Manchester explosion: Young children, teenagers and parents feared to be victims of blast
Ariana Grande is popular with a younger demographic
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Teenagers, children, and their parents are feared to be the victims of a reported blast that has shaken an arena in Manchester.
The reported blast took place just after the end of an Ariana Grande concert, an American pop singer popular with predominantly younger crowds, when concert goers were attempting to leave the Manchester Arena. The explosion, which was being treated as a terrorist incident by Greater Manchester Police, left at least 19 dead and injured around 50 more.
The fear of a bombing sparked panic in the arena and lead some children and their parents to become separated from one another. A nearby Holiday Inn was accepting children who were unable to find their parents following the end of the concert.
"I and my sister, along with a lot of others, were seeing Ariana Grande perform at Manchester Arena, and we were seeing Ariana Grande perform at Manchester Arena, and we were all exiting the venue around 10:40-10:45pm-ish, a huge bomb-like bang went off that hugely panicked everyone and we were all trying to flee the area," Majid Khan, 22, said. "Everyone was in a huge state of panic, calling each other as some had gone to the toilet whilst this had gone off, so it was just extremely disturbing for everyone there.
A Twitter user who said that he worked in a job associated with the arena lamented the deaths there.
"People have died where I work. Innocent people, mostly kids, have died," a user named Will wrote. "Heartbreaking. Manchester doesn't deserve this. No one deserves this."
Another user said that the scene following the attack was full of devastated teenagers.
"I'm walking back to my hotel and all I see is crying and teenagers breaking down," the user wrote. "It was way too loud."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments