Police: 19 dead in blast at concert

LONDON >> An explosion at a pop concert in the northern English city of Manchester late Monday left at least 19 people dead and about 50 others injured, according to police.

“This is currently being treated as a terrorist incident

until police know otherwise,” the Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.

Witnesses interviewed by the BBC reported hearing a loud blast following a performance by American pop singer Ariana Grande at Manchester Arena. Police said the blast occurred around 10:30 p.m.

Initial evidence at the scene suggested the attack may have been a suicide bombing, according to two U.S. security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. British authorities, who were meeting in emergency sessions across Manchester and London, did not immediately confirm those reports.

If confirmed as a terrorist attack, it would be the worst strike on British soil since 2005, when bombers killed 54 people on London trains and buses.

Cellphone video showed chaotic scenes of people screaming and running in the aftermath of the blast. The arena was packed with attendees and pink balloons that had fallen from the ceiling during the concert’s final song. Initially, concertgoers said they thought popping balloons had set off a panic.

But witnesses later reported seeing the prone bodies of those who had been wounded and killed, as well as others who were streaked with blood and were staggering away from the scene. Some were injured in the rush to get out.

The hospital, Wythenshawe, said it was dealing with “mass casualties.”

Heavily armed police and emergency services swarmed the arena, with ambulances — their blue lights flashing — rushing to the scene.

The local emergencyresponse service advised the public to call only “for life-threatening emergencies.”

Many of those attending the concert were teenagers. Witnesses reported that outside the arena, parents were frantically attempting to locate their children.

A father told the BBC that he was leaving the arena with his wife and daughter when the blast blew him through a set of doors. Afterward, the man, identified as Andy, said he saw about 30 people “scattered everywhere. Some of them looked dead.”