Parents go online to find their children
manchester — Desperate parents and friends posted heart-wrenching messages and pictures on social media in the search for their loved ones on Tuesday after a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured dozens at a British concert by US singer Ariana Grande.
“Please...please retweet. Looking for my daughter and her friend,” Michael MacIntyre wrote on Twitter, alongside an image of his daughter Laura and her friend Eilidh.
Many people had been posting pictures of eight-year old Saffie Rose Roussos, who some users said had been wearing a white Ariana T-shirt at the gig, with media imploring people to come forward with information about her whereabouts. But her primary school later confirmed she had died in the attack, making her the youngest known victim so far.
Many parents were waiting for their children in and around the Manchester Arena when the blast rocked the foyer of the venue as thousands of young fans and parents streamed out following the gig on Monday evening.
While many teenagers eventually found their friends and relatives in the chaos, some were helped to safety by bystanders, others were offered free taxi rides home and dozens were taken to nearby hotels.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling was one of many British artists and celebrities to help spread the word by retweeting messages and posting offers of help.
Grande, whose fan base is made up largely of teenagers and young girls, said on Twitter: “broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. I don’t have words.”
Paula Robinson, 48, was at the train station next to the arena with her husband when she felt the blast and saw dozens of teenage girls screaming and running away from the arena. “We ran out,” she told Reuters. “It was literally seconds after the explosion. I got the teens to run with me.”
Robinson said she took dozens of teenage girls to the nearby Holiday Inn Express hotel and tweeted out her phone number to worried parents telling them to meet her there. She said her phone had not stopped ringing since her tweet.
“Parents were frantic running about trying to get to their children. There were lots of children at Holiday Inn.”
In the hours after the blast, picture montages of smiling faces were being circulated of teens still unaccounted for after the concert. They carried the hashtag: “#PrayForManchester.”
#ManchesterBombing was trending on Twitter around the world on Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, upset friends and relatives were arriving at Etihad Stadium in Manchester on the advice of police to those who needed assistance after the attack.
As the picture became clearer on Tuesday after the deadliest militant assault in Britain since four British Muslims killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London’s transport system in 2005, heartwarming stories of reunions began to emerge.
Riley Blackery, who had used Twitter to search for her friend Heather, shared the good news with her followers after a fellow user helped her find her friend:
“UPDATE: WE GOT HOLD OF HER, SHES SAFE!! SHES OKAY,” she posted. —
Terrible incident in Manchester. My thoughts are with all those affected and our brilliant emergency services Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of Labour Party
Horrified at the bombing in Manchester. No doubt we will find out who the perpetrator is soon. My thoughts are with those affected Nigel Farage, Leader of UK Independence Party
My heart goes out to families who have lost loved ones, my admiration to our brave emergency services. A terrible night for our city Andy Burnham, Mayor of Manchester
London stands with Manchester — our thoughts are with all those killed and injured tonight and our brave emergency services Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London
We believe, at this stage, the attack last night was conducted by one man. The priority is to establish whether he was acting alone or as part of a network Ian Hopkins, Manchester Chief Constable