A number of people have died and others have been injured following a reported explosion at Manchester Arena.
Summary
Greater Manchester Police say there have been number of fatalities
People are urged to stay away from the area around Manchester Arena
Rail lines blocked at nearby Manchester Victoria station
Ariana Grande concert was evacuated
A spokesman for the singer confirms she is unharmed
Witnesses reported hearing a "huge bang" following a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande.
Greater Manchester Police said there are a "number of confirmed fatalities and others injured".
Witnesses said they heard two loud bangs, reported to be near the ticket office of the arena. The cause of the reported explosion is unknown.
Manchester Victoria station, which is close to the concert venue, has been closed and all trains cancelled.
Possible terrorist incident'
Daniel Sandford
Home Affairs Correspondent
The North West Counter Terrorism Unit is treating the incident in Manchester as a possible terrorist incident, sources said.
Senior national Counter-Terrorism officers are assembling in London and are liaising with the Home Office.
Early estimates put the number of fatalities in double figures, but these are very early stages.
Greater Manchester Police tweeted to urge people to stay away from the area.
'Screaming and running'
A number of eyewitnesses have described the confusion in the aftermath.
Robert Tempkin, 22, from Middlesbrough, said: "Everyone was screaming and running, there were coats and people's phones on the floor. People just dropped everything.
"Some people were screaming they'd seen blood but other people were saying it was balloons busting or a speaker had been popped.
"There were lots of ambulances. I saw somebody being treated. I couldn't tell what had happened to him."
Josh Elliott, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, said he was shocked by news of the fatalities.
"A bang went off and everyone stopped and screamed... we basically hit the deck," he said
"It was bedlam… it was horrific.
"We got up when we thought it was safe and got out as quickly as possible.
"People were just crying and in tears... police cars were everywhere.
"We just wanted to get out as quickly as possible because we didn't know what was going on."
Michelle Sullivan, from Huddersfield, was attending the concert with her daughters, aged 12 and 15.
"It was really scary," she said. "Just as the lights have gone down we heard a really loud explosion... Everybody screamed.
"When we got out they just said 'keep on running, keep on running'."
No comments:
Post a Comment