Families are left desperately waiting for word of their children's safety as a suspected terrorist attack rocked Manchester last night.
22 people are confirmed dead and 59 are injured as of this morning after a bomb went off Manchester Arena at around 22:35 BST.
US singer Ariana Grande had just performed at the venue, which was packed with young teens, when a suspected suicide bomber detonated a bomb.
The BBC has reported that the man responsible for the attack, a suicide bomber, appears to be dead.
Several families used a nearby Holiday Inn hotel as a meeting point to be reunited with their children. However, parents are still hoping to learn the fate of their child and are taking their plea online. The confirmed dead have not been named yet, but Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said children were among those killed.
My brother is missing in Manchester, the Ariane Grande concert - had no contact since the bomb went off. Please RT and Share #Manchester pic.twitter.com/3O7ZKNNQ32
— Paul (@Paul91801331) 23 May 2017
My best friend Lucy is missing in Manchester after the Ariana Grande concert. We can't get in touch with her and no one knows where she is. pic.twitter.com/c5nRCQNp6O
— Mads (@_maddisonallen) 23 May 2017
The chilling attack took place right after Grande performed and concert goers, many of them teenage girls, were leaving the venue.
Concert-goer Josh Elliott, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, described what happened inside the arena as the gig finished.
"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."
A video below taken at Manchester Arena shows the moment the bomb exploded.
A friend of a friend is still missing following last nights events in Manchester, any help is appreciated. #MENArena #MissingInManchester pic.twitter.com/YDzDDLYC0C
— Ross George (@designedbyross) 23 May 2017
Prime Minister Theresa May has suspended her election campaign and called the attack 'appalling'. She will chair an emergency Cobra committee meeting later today.
The suspected terrorist attack would be the worst on UK soil since the July 2005 bombings in London, which left 59 dead. The events in Manchester last night also fall on the fourth anniversary of the murder of British Army officer Lee Rigby by Islamists.
