Manchester: At least nineteen people have been killed in a suspected terrorist attack during a pop concert by US star Ariana Grande in the northwest English city of Manchester, police said on Tuesday.
A fleet of ambulances was seen rushing to the venue and bomb disposal teams were dispatched soon after, as city residents opened up their doors to stranded concert-goers after train services were shut down.
"So far 19 people have been confirmed dead, with around 50 others injured. This is currently being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise," police said in a statement.
Police carried out a controlled explosion in a small park near the venue a few hours after the blast but said the item turned out to be only abandoned clothes.
There was mass panic after the explosion at the end of the concert, which was part of Grande's The Dangerous Woman Tour. The singer was not injured, according to a representative.
Witnesses reported hearing two loud bangs coming from near the arena's bars at about 10:35pm but there were few further details.
"A huge bomb-like bang went off that hugely panicked everyone and we were all trying to flee the arena," concertgoer Majid Khan, 22, told Britain's Press Association. "It was one bang and essentially everyone from the other side of the arena where the bang was heard from suddenly came running towards us as they were trying to exit."
Added Oliver Jones, 17: "The bang echoed around the foyer of the arena and people started to run."
Video from inside the arena showed concertgoers screaming as they made their way out amid a sea of pink balloons.
Manchester Arena, the largest indoor arena in Europe, opened in 1995 and is a popular concert and sporting venue.
Suicide bomber?
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but US officials drew parallels to the coordinated attacks in November 2015 by Islamist militants on the Bataclan concert hall and other sites in Paris, which claimed about 130 lives.
Two US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said that initial signs pointed to a suicide bomber as being responsible for the blast.
"The choice of venue, the timing and the mode of attack all suggest this was terrorism," said a US counter terrorism official who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
Britain's terrorist threat level has been set at "severe" in recent years indicating an attack is highly likely.
British counter-terrorism police have said they are making on average an arrest every day in connection with suspected terrorism.
In March, a British-born convert to Islam ploughed a car into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge, killing four people before stabbing to death a police officer who was on the grounds of parliament. He was shot dead at the scene.
In 2015, Pakistani student Abid Naseer was convicted in a US court of conspiring with al Qaeda to blow up the Arndale shopping center in the center of Manchester in April 2009.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said the government is working to establish "the full details of what is being treated by the police as an appalling terrorist attack."
She said her thoughts are with the victims and the families of those who have been affected. The government is expected to call an emergency Cabinet meeting.
Police advised the public to avoid the area around the Manchester Arena.
Train services to and from Manchester Victoria Station — located under the Arena — had been cancelled.
"Disruption is expected to continue until the end of the day," National Rail said in a statement.
British Transport Police said in a statement: "Officers are at Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion within the foyer area of the stadium at 10.30pm this evening.
The incident caused transport chaos, with traffic jams outside the venue.
"Emergency services are dealing with an incident near Manchester Victoria, resulting in all lines being closed," operator Northern Railway wrote on its website.
Joseph Carozza, a representative from Grande's US record label, said the singer is OK and they are investigating what happened.
The Dangerous Woman Tour is the third concert tour by Grande and supports her third studio album, "Dangerous Woman."
Grande's role as Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon's high school sitcom "Victorious" propelled her to teen idol status, starting in 2010.
The 23-year-old Grande, with her signature high ponytail, went on to also star in spinoffs that included "iCarly," as she worked to develop her recording career.
The tour began in Phoenix in February. After Manchester, Grande was to perform at venues in Europe, including Belgium, Poland, Germany, Switzerland and France, with concerts in Latin America and Asia to follow.
