At least 19 people killed and more than 50 injured. Witnesses describe hearing a ‘huge bang‘, and hospitals report many with shrapnel wounds
Some reports say device may have been be a nail bomb. Theresa May says police treating it as ‘appalling terrorist attack’
Family and friends are turning to social media to track down missing children. Video shows moment concert-goers flee in terror
Eyewitnesses: ‘People were lying on the ground covered in blood’. People in Manchester open their homes to victims. Manchester Victoria train station was evacuated
Manchester is the UK city for two prominent football clubs – Manchester United and Manchetser City.
A father has described seeing “carnage everywhere” in the wake of an explosion at Manchester, including children and disabled people.
The man, named Andy, said he was blown “about 30ft” by a blast that shook the building as he waited to collect his wife and daughter at the end of a concert by US artist Ariana Grande.
He said he later saw panicking families trying to find loved ones in the wake of the incident on Monday night.
He told BBC News: “It’s shocking what happened. Just carnage everywhere. There was a good 20 to 30 of them [victims]. Some were young kids, some were disabled people.”
He added: “As I was waiting an explosion went off and it threw me through the first set of doors about 30ft to the next set of doors.
“When I got up and looked around there was about 30 people scattered everywhere, some of them looked dead, they might of been unconscious but there was a lot of fatalities.
“My first thing was to run in the stadium to try and find my wife and daughter.
“When I couldn’t find them I looked back outside and the police, fire and ambulance were there and I looked at some of the bodies trying to find my family.
“Luckily they weren’t there, I managed to find them outside the arena and got them back to the hotel.”
One man at the concert with his sister described how the apparent explosion hit the venue as they were leaving the building.
Majid Khan, 22, said: “I and my sister, along with a lot of others, were seeing Ariana Grande perform at Manchester Arena, and we were all exiting the venue when a huge bomb-like bang went off that hugely panicked everyone and we were all trying to flee the arena.
Here is how the events of the night unfolded:
Monday, 6pm: Doors open at Manchester Arena in the north of the city centre. US pop singer Ariana Grande is on the bill for a sell-out concert at the 21,000-capacity venue. Fans, many of them teenage girls, excitedly share selfies as they wait for the show to begin.
7.30pm: Show’s scheduled start time. After a performance from support act BIA, an American rapper, Grande takes the stage.
10.30pm Show’s scheduled finish. Thousands of fans begin to file out of the arena’s four exits.
A “huge bomb-like bang” is heard at the arena. Witnesses describe being knocked from their feet by an explosion and seeing dozens of injured, possibly dead, people including children lying on the floor. Others describe panic as concert-goers run for exits.
10.35pm: Greater Manchester Police (GMP) are called to reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena. Dozens of emergency services vehicles stream into the area.
10.55pm: Police urge people to stay away from the area as responders deal with a “serious incident”.
11.46pm: Police say there have been a number of confirmed fatalities.
Tuesday, 1.10am: Nineteen people are confirmed dead and around 50 others injured following the suspected explosion police say is being treated as a terrorist incident.
1.35am: A controlled explosion is carried out on a suspicious item in the Cathedral Gardens area near Manchester Arena. It is later confirmed to be abandoned clothing.
2.15am Prime Minister Theresa May says her thoughts are with the victims and families of those affected in “what is being treated by the police as an appalling terrorist attack”.
3.04am Chief Constable Ian Hopkins, Greater Manchester Police, says: “My thoughts are very much with those who have been injured and lost their lives. We are currently treating this as a terrorist incident until we have further information. This is clearly a very concerning time for everyone.
I want to thank people for their support and ask them to remain vigilant.”
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