An explosion at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester,
England Monday caused a "number of confirmed fatalities," said
police, who later added that they were treating it as a "possible
terrorist incident."
Spokesman Joseph Carozza said Grande, who was performing
at the arena as part of her "Dangerous Woman" world tour, was
"okay" and added, "we are further investigating what
happened."
Concertgoer Sasina Akhtar told the Manchester Evening
News that Grande had just finished her last song when "there was an
explosion behind us at the back of the arena. We saw young girls with blood on
them, everyone was screaming and people were running. There was lots of smoke."
David Richardson, who attended the show with his
13-year-old daughter, told the MEN that he heard two explosions just after the
show.
"It was about 40 feet behind us near one of the
exits. We just thought it was people messing about then it happened again. Another
explosion sounded. Then we saw the smoke. Everyone just fled."
Majid Khan, 22, said she heard a "huge bomb-like
bang that hugely panicked everyone and we were all trying to flee the
arena."
"Everyone was in a huge state of panic, calling each
other as some had gone to the toilet whilst this had gone off, so it was just
extremely disturbing for everyone there."
Another witness, Oliver Jones, 17, told Sky News he was
in the bathroom when he heard "a loud bang."
"The bang echoed around the foyer of the arena and
people started to run," Jones said. "I (saw) people running and
screaming towards one direction and then many were turning around to run back
the other way. Security was running out as well as the fans and concert
goers."
Manchester Victoria station, which is under the arena,
was also evacuated and all trains were canceled, though there were no initial
reports of injuries there.
Stranded concertgoers reportedly were waiting for rides
home in nearby bars and hotels. Sky News reported that some city taxi drivers
were offering free rides to help clear traffic out of the city center.
The Dangerous Woman Tour is the third concert tour by
Grande to support her third studio album, Dangerous Woman. From Manchester the
tour was to move through Europe, including Belgium, Poland, Germany,
Switzerland and France, through the summer with stops in Brazil, Chile,
Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico and on to Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, New
Zealand, Australia and more.
The
Associated Press contributed to this report.
