19 killed after explosion at Manchester Ariana Grande show

Image: a still from footage circulating on social media and news site, showing concertgoers exiting the arena after the incident.

Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that 19 people have died and at least 50 injured after an incident following an Ariana Grande concert overnight in Manchester in northern England.

About 21,000 patrons – mostly young people, some accompanied by their parents – were leaving the Manchester Arena at 10.30 pm local time, when there was an explosion went off in the foyer.

“All of a sudden huge sound… an explosion went off,” one eyewitness told the BBC. “Everyone just stopped and turned round then somebody shouted ’it’s a bomb’ and everyone started running.

“People were pushing each other aside in panic,” she said, and there were “a lot of children without parents with no-one to calm them down.

“There was screaming and crying and pushing. We were being crushed as we exited.”

Another fan said she saw “young girls with blood on them”.

“Everyone was screaming and people were running. There was lots of smoke.”

Another said the sound of the explosion was so loud “you could feel it in your chest”.

While police closed off Victoria Station, which is beneath the concert venue, parents were frantically searching for their children.

Many unaccompanied children were taken to nearby hotels to make it easier for their parents to get in contact, with over 60 kids and young people gathered at the Holiday Inn near the arena.

Facebook activated its Safety Check feature in the area.

A bomb disposal squad is currently on site, and Manchester police were carrying out a controlled explosion in nearby Cathedral Gardens around 10:30amAEST on an item that turned out to be an abandoned item of clothing.

The police are treating the incident as a potential terrorist attack until confirmed otherwise.

Grande’s management confirmed the singer was safe. A few people speculated on social media about whether the rest of the Dangerous Woman tour – including dates in Australia in September – would go ahead, but were swiftly shut down by a chorus of fans pointing out that the safety and health of concertgoers were all that mattered in the immediate aftermath.

The Australian High Commission in London is endeavouring to find out if any Australians were affected.

TMN recommends The Guardian’s live coverage for further updates from the site.