News is now rolling in that there has been some sort of an attack at Ariana Grande’s concert at Manchester Arena in England. And there are fatalities.
Ariana Grande was performing at the arena as part of her Dangerous Woman Tour and she had just finished her set when the explosion happened.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed the incident in a Facebook post, stating, “Emergency services are currently responding to reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena. There are a number of confirmed fatalities and others injured. Please AVOID the area as first responders work tirelessly at the scene. Details of a casualty bureau will follow as soon as available.”
Several Twitter users who were at the scene or near the Manchester Arena vicinity have also taken to their respective accounts to share updates of the situation. There’s no doubt that it is chaotic.
I never ment to record this but this is me leaving ariana grande #DangerousWomantour #ManchesterArena hope everyone is safe and got out pic.twitter.com/TLu73UBl0x
— Rhianna🐝 (@rburke99) May 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/hannawwh/status/866775833553379328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2017%2F05%2F22%2Feurope%2Fmanchester-arena-incident%2Findex.html
https://twitter.com/WillMcHoebag/status/866782112095010818
https://twitter.com/iaam/status/866787973190238208
https://twitter.com/ArianaKissYou/status/866792746752802816
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/866780801630916608
According to the Greater Manchester Police, 19 people have died, with around 50 others injured. As at time of writing, the exact number of fatalities and casualties is not known.
The Manchester Arena has since been evacuated following the explosion. However, relatives and friends of concert attendees have taken to social media (#DWTManchester on Twitter) to put up missing person notices.
Meanwhile, a representative for Ariana Grande and her crew has confirmed that they’re safe and sound. BIA, who was also performing at the same venue, assured fans via a tweet that she’s okay.
UPDATE (23rd May, 2:55pm):
According to Greater Manchester Police’s latest Twitter update, the death toll from the Manchester Arena attack now stands at 22, while 59 people have been injured. AFP confirmed that the attacker died detonating the device although there’s no mention of the type of device that was used in the attack.
Meanwhile, Ariana Grande has finally broken her silence:
https://twitter.com/ArianaGrande/status/866849021519966208
TMZ reports that the pop star has suspended her Dangerous Woman Tour indefinitely in the wake of the Manchester Arena attack. She will not be performing in London on Thursday (25th May) and has decided for now to put the entire European tour on hold. She was originally scheduled to perform in England, Belgium, Poland, Germany, and Switzerland.
More to come.
Sources: Greater Manchester Police, BIA, CNN, Dangerous Woman Tour, AFP, TMZ / Featured image: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Republic Records.
