Search for loved ones continues after Manchester bombing

A woman walks past an electronic advertising board displaying a Union Jack flag and the words "Pray For Manchester", close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017. Ben Stansall / AFP

MANCHESTER // Desperate parents and friends posted heart-wrenching messages and pictures on social media in the search for their loved ones on Tuesday after a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured dozens at a British concert by US singer Ariana Grande.

“Please...please retweet. Looking for my daughter and her friend,” Michael MacIntyre wrote on Twitter, alongside an image of his daughter Laura and her friend Eilidh.

Many people had been posting pictures of eight-year old Saffie Rose Roussos, who some users said had been wearing a white Ariana T-shirt at the gig, with media imploring people to come forward with information about her whereabouts.

But her primary school later confirmed she had died in the attack, making her the youngest known victim so far.

“Saffie was simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word,” said head teacher Chris Upton. “She was loved by everyone and her warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly. Saffie was quiet and unassuming with a creative flair.”

Many parents were waiting for their children in and around the Manchester Arena when the blast rocked the foyer of the venue as thousands of young fans and parents streamed out following the gig on Monday evening.

The first confirmed victim was student Georgina Callander, believed to be 18, whose death was reported by her former school. The Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy in Croston, north-west of Manchester, posted a photo of Callander on its website, smiling in her school uniform. It described her as “a lovely young student who was very popular with her peers and the staff”.

Grande, whose fan base is made up largely of teenagers and young girls, said on Twitter: “broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. I don’t have words.”

Many teenagers eventually found their friends and relatives in the chaos at the venue, while others were helped to safety by bystanders, offered free taxi rides home or taken to nearby hotels.

Paula Robinson, 48, was at the train station next to the arena with her husband when she felt the blast and saw dozens of teenage girls screaming and running away from the venue.

“We ran out,” she said. “It was literally seconds after the explosion. I got the teenagers to run with me.”

Ms Robinson said she took dozens of teenage girls to the nearby Holiday Inn Express hotel and tweeted out her phone number to worried parents telling them to meet her there. She said her phone had not stopped ringing since her tweet.

“Parents were frantic running about trying to get to their children. There were lots of children at Holiday Inn,” she added.

In the hours after the blast, photo montages of smiling faces were being circulated of teenagers still unaccounted for after the concert. They carried the hashtag: “#PrayForManchester.”

Harry Potter author J K Rowling was one of many British artists and celebrities to help spread the word about missing loved ones by retweeting messages and posting offers of help.

On Tuesday morning, upset friends and relatives were arriving at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on the advice of police to those who needed assistance after the attack.

As the picture became clearer throughout the day, however, heart-warming stories of reunions began to emerge.

Riley Blackery, who had used Twitter to search for her friend Heather, eventually managed to find her with the help of a fellow user:

“UPDATE: WE GOT HOLD OF HER, SHES SAFE!! SHES OKAY,” she posted.

* Reuters, with additional reporting by Associated Press