welcome to bbc news, with karin giannone and tom donkin. we start with our breaking news from the north—west of england. police say at least 19 people have been killed and more than 50 others injured in an explosion at manchester arena. they says it is being treated as a terrorist incident. witnesses reported hearing a loud bang in the venue at the end of an ariane grande concert. the complex is above a railway station, and train services have been suspended. on the line is imran, who was outside the concert waiting to pick up his partner and their daughter when the explosion happened. hello to you. thank you very much for talking to us. just tell us what happened to you. basically i was just waiting outside on the old ridge street. i got that at about 10:20 p.m., maybe. itexted my partner at about 10:28 p.m., telling him where i was, and he says he has

just finished the last song, he will be on the way out. and minutes later i heard a big explosion, and ijust saw my partner and my daughter running towards me. and my daughter was screaming, crying, and my partner said quickly, let's go. quickly, there has been an explosion, let's go. and ijust couldn't get out of their quick enough. and there were just all these people coming running down the stairs, screaming, pushing each other, screaming, crying, and it was just they were manic. i only had one explosion. that is all i heard, one explosion. that is all i heard, one explosion. so inrun, your partner and your daughter had literally been seconds out of the building when it went off —— imran. seconds out of the building when it went off -- imran. yes, she was at the top of the stairs when the explosion went off and she literally ran down the stairs with her. and luckily my car is quite distinctive, so luckily my car is quite distinctive, so she saw me straightaway. and they we re so she saw me straightaway. and they were just people running away from them and screaming, and ijust assumed that they had seen a

celebrity or seen, you know,... minutes before a coach went past me, i thought it might be ariana grande's coach. but then when i saw my partner running towards me screaming, and my daughter crying, i had heard the explosion, but i thought it was a pyrotechnic going. you know, when you hear a concert and when it all finishes and someone goes off to say good night, or whatever, i assumed goes off to say good night, or whatever, iassumed it goes off to say good night, or whatever, i assumed it was that, i really, really did. because you could hear the vibrations from the music from where i was stood outside, but then obviously there was a big explosion, and it was manic after that. but we fortunately got away. it has taken me over 2.5 hours to get back home. that is extraordinary, and just as you were leaving the scene, could you see scores of people running out onto the street? hundreds and hundreds of people. it was just manic. they were

just pushing each other out of the way, people were struggling to get out of the way. it was manic, it really was, yes. and when you say it took you 2.5 hours to get home, you are in leeds now, are you? that's right. are people who don't the region. well, it took me about 45 minute to get from my house to manchester arena, but it took me two hours to get home. did you have any idea, when now you hear what has happened, and how terrible the night has been inside manchester arena, how do you respond to it, how do you react? i feel sick. my how do you respond to it, how do you react? ifeel sick. my partner wouldn't even speak to me, to be honest, on the phone. she is absolutely in bits. she is saying that minutes later i could have been caught up in that, and our daughter has cried herself to sleep. she had to sleep in bed with us, she is 12 yea rs old to sleep in bed with us, she is 12 years old and she has been looking forward to this since christmas. she

has been counting the days down and she had a great evening, and this is... it is crazy, absolutely, absolutely crazy, what is going on. to get a concert and some absolute lunatic doing what they are doing, it is crazy. and i would imagine that there are many, many other girls like your daughter, that age, who are fans of ariana grande. like they say, i got there around 10:20pm and it was already busy earlier, i checked and thought it must have finished early, because there were 70 or 80 people already outside. and she was, like domino, the last song is still playing. it is just about to be over and we will be home. so i texted at 10:28 p.m., and she texted me back and within 12 minutes i had gone, i had literally sped off. as $0011 gone, i had literally sped off. as 50011 as gone, i had literally sped off. as soon as they got in the car, i got my way through every one and made it through, really fortunately. did you

imagine that there were casualties inside, from what you heard and saw? no, no. wejust got near the motorway, we heard on the news that there had been fatalities, and my daughter obviously heard it on the radio, and my partner herbert on the radio, and my partner herbert on the radio, and my partner herbert on the radio, and they both just burst out in tears, both of them. for a 12 your old girl at herfirst in tears, both of them. for a 12 your old girl at her first concert, this must be very traumatic indeed. shias mbits. she just wanted to get home. she is absolutely in bits, she really is. i mean, we have been home since i think about 12:30 a.m., we have gone to sleep. we are not even tired, just going around in our head what could have happened, what has happened to the people, and just reading about the kids in the hotel where they can't find the parents or guardians, is absolute crazy, and that could have been my daughter. and i wasn't even going to pick them up. they were going to get the train home. but i decided to go pick them

up, and i'mjust home. but i decided to go pick them up, and i'm just so glad home. but i decided to go pick them up, and i'mjust so glad i was home. but i decided to go pick them up, and i'm just so glad i was there to get them. what is going around in oui’ to get them. what is going around in our head now is what it. and it shouldn't be like that, but it is, u nfortu nately. shouldn't be like that, but it is, unfortunately. and what did your partner say she experience when she was rushing out? what was it like, what was the explosion like from her perspective? shejust what was the explosion like from her perspective? she just said she heard this wang and she just literally grabbed hold of my daughter's hand and just ran down the stairs. that is all she said. she was literally feet away from me. she got to the top of the stairs, where the exit was and the explosion happened, and we just heard one explosion. definitely, definitely heard one explosion. and like i say, from when the explosion and when she heard it too when she got in my car, it was seconds. because i was parked literally ten foot from the exit, from the door, on the old ridge street drive, parked across the road. so you know, she didn't have time to react. she literally got my daughter and there was all the people screaming. and as soon as the

explosion happened, she literally just ran down the stairs and ran away. but they knew something was awry. they definitely knew something was right. they weren't sure what it was right. they weren't sure what it was but they knew something was right. imran, we are very grateful for your time. we wish you all the best. thank you very much for talking to us. our correspondent ed thomas is close to the scene of the incident in manchester. as we hear eyewitness testimony care of the confusion and just the emotion involved in this event, what more do we know about the police operation, and those who have been injured and sadly lost their lives? this is the north end of the city, this is beams gate, one of the main shopping areas. this court and is across here, at around 500m down the

road, pass there, you go to your right and you reach manchester evening news arena —— deansgate. 19 people dead, police have confirmed more than 50 people injured, and tonight we are seeing images on social media of parents posting pictures of their children, asking people have you seen them? do you know whether our? are they safe? that is the reality of being in manchester here tonight. just hours on from this blast. what we do know is that unaccompanied minors, because remember, this place was full of young children, teenagers, who wanted to go and watch their favourite pop artist, but some children, and the company minors, are being held in a hoteljust around the corner here, desperately trying to be reunited with their pa rents. trying to be reunited with their parents. away from that, here, we have just seemed confused parents. away from that, here, we havejust seemed confused people, people who can't quite believe what they have seen tonight. we have

scene just two young girls with their head in the hands of the edge of this corner, desperately trying to wring taxis. we saw a father of two young girls, one was ten, the other was 12. he was on his phone, trying to hold both their hands, desperately, trying to get someone to come and get him out of manchester. and then we saw someone who just lives in the city walk over and say i will help you. i am not a taxi driver, i am not working, i will take you where you need to go. we saw another young gentleman standing nearby. he lives in the city centre, he has been handing out water bottles as well and further details have been revealed to us by people here as well. there was one man who had leading from his foot. he said when this explosion happened he was close by. his wife was on the floor and he knelt down and covered her and as he stood up, all he could see were nuts and bolts on the floor. we are hearing from sources in the united states that this could have been suspected suicide bomber.

we have also heard as from greater manchester police. they say they are treating this as a terrorist incident. at we are waiting to hear more from greater manchester police. they will be carrying out a press conference not far from they will be carrying out a press conference not farfrom here. apologies for the delay on the line. you mentioned the chaos that ensued after this explosion took place. pa rents were after this explosion took place. parents were waiting outside for children to leave, children were leaving, this happened at a crucial time of the evening where there was potential for mass casualties. yes, this is the manchester arena, the biggest concert hall in manchester. it can hold 12,000, 13,000 people. there are concerts here weekly. all the big stars come here. i take my daughter to these concerts. and you

a lwa ys daughter to these concerts. and you always wait outside the main foyer. what we are hearing from people who are here is that this main foyer, the main big entrance and exit where people stream out of in their hundreds and thousands, but that was the centre of this explosion. it is the centre of this explosion. it is the place where people go after the concert to buy their scarves, to buy their posters, to buy their t—shirts. we being told that that is the place where this explosion happened. one explosion confirmed by the police. we were actually talking to you earlier, there was a controlled explosion which was carried out just further controlled explosion which was carried outjust further down here at cathedral gardens. it was allowed and, again there was panic from people here. but police have now confirmed that that suspected device happened to be clothing. we can actually see clothing further down here that people have just scattered as they had tried to make their way from here. but those pictures inside the arena of the screams, the panic as people try to get away from this explosion. again, we have this delay

on the line so we asked viewers to stick with us. you mentioned when the explosion went off the chaos which pursued but give us a sense of the geography where we are looking, where manchester arena is in relation to, you know, the city centre, and also the station, which we can see pictures now of people running down through the turnstiles, just trying to get out of harm ‘s way. yes, people who were in there, who were witnesses to the pictures you are seeing who were witnesses to the pictures you are seeing 110w, who were witnesses to the pictures you are seeing now, just described com plete you are seeing now, just described complete panic, as nobody knew what was happening inside that arena. they had this loud explosion. we have spoken to two young teenagers who said they felt the heat of the blast. one of the young girls, who was 17, still had smoke chars, black chars on herface was 17, still had smoke chars, black chars on her face from the force of this explosion. these are young

children and they turned around and they saw the people lying on the ground, the people being treated here. so there was absolute disbelief about what happened, but what we do know now is that we think this blast happened in the foyer of the manchester evening news arena. at the end of the concert, usually, the doors open and people come streaming out. it is not like when you are going into the arena at the beginning of the concert, where bags are checked and where security is on hand. usually at the end the doors just open and people leave. and that also means that people come inside as well. and also one eyewitness, a man called gary, who felt this explosion, who saw his wife injured on the ground, he got that and cradled her, he said he did it for nearly an hour. he said she was bleeding, she is in hospital. he said when he got up from the arena he gives the nuts and bolts on the floor all around him. we do know in previous suicide bomb attacks that nuts and bolts and nails are placed inside bombs to widen the impact

area of the blast. we are still waiting for greater manchester police to have a press conference. we understand it will be the chief co nsta ble. we understand it will be the chief constable. we also understand that counterterrorism unit officers are here. there will be from the north—west. we understand that they are being supported by colleagues from london as well but police have confirmed that they are now treating this as a terrorist incident, and we are waiting foran this as a terrorist incident, and we are waiting for an update from manchester to make greater manchester to make greater manchester police. and as we wait to piece together what exactly happened there at manchester arena, some positive news about the community spirit which has been on display they are in manchester, stories of cab drivers turning off the meters, hotels taking in confused and injured people. yes, we are hearing that all the time. this is footage from a phone.

this came from somebody who said he went out for catfood. he went to find bottles of water to hand out to people, just to help. we have seen again and again tonight. there was a man with two young girls, ten, and 12. he did not know what was going on. he was not from manchester. and a man approached him and said he would take him home. he was not a taxi driver or looking for money. he just wanted to help. we have seen a lot about. people handing out those those bottles of water, because there are so many people here who cannot understand what has happened here, tonight. to give you a sense of the operation with the pelissier, we have seen two helicopters circling the city very close by. this was within an hour of the blast. —— with the police, here, we have seen. i've seen several unmarked police cars making their

way towards manchester. counter terrorism officers are now liaising in london. taxis have been bringing in senior police officers to make their way here. this is a concert hall. people go to these concerts at the arena weekly. about two or three concerts a week. we were told that people were being searched when they went inside. but this happen when people were coming out. eyewitnesses have now told us that the centre of this blast was in the foyer of the arena. this is the lesser people by their posters t—shirts. what is unclear is what the security renters we re unclear is what the security renters were at the end of the concert. —— posters and t—shirts. —— security

arrangements. hopefully, we will get more detail with the press conference, which will come in any minute now. as we are speaking, we are hearing that theresa may has said her thoughts to the victims and families of those affected in what is being treated as an appalling terrorist attack. the prime minister now labelling this as a terrorist attack. obviously, the operation now between police and anti— terror units will be ongoing. you get a says about any other is that we might get in the coming hours? is only says there might be giving more information? —— is there any sense that they may be giving more information. yes, we are expecting an update from

greater manchester police in any moment. what we should get is an updated number of fatalities in injuries, here. so far, we know that 19 people have died in this blast, and more than 50 people have been injured. we also know that there was a controlled explosion. they controlled explosion happened around 250 metres down the road coming here. this has been scared at the north end of the city. you might be at the sydney blue flashing lights there. —— this is dean's gate. that done there is where the controlled explosion was carried out. it was very loud, but we are told that this was carried out on an item of clothing. what that tells you is that police here are taking no chances. there is something else, as well, they will not be rushed in this investigation. this is one of the largest terror attacks in modern times in this country. they will wa nt to times in this country. they will want to know who was behind this.

why people did this. is there a network of people? was this a so—called lone—wolf all were they working with other people? —— or we re working with other people? —— or were they. these are the questions the police will need to answer in the police will need to answer in the coming days and weeks. they will not be rushed into this investigation. to give you a sense of the police operation, here, the northern end of city, here at the end of dean's gate, near the train station, near to where the manchester arena is, it is all cordoned off. you cannot travel around the north end of the city. there are still no trains going, i understand, that could change soon. we are expecting more from the police, but as we stand here, now, 19 people injured and 50 dead. the reality for some parents here tonight is that they are posting m essa 9 es tonight is that they are posting messages on social media. they posting pictures of loved ones in their names. and parents asking if

you have seen them or if you know where they are. as we stand here, we are being told that other company to have been taken down to a hotel near 01’ have been taken down to a hotel near or stop —— near here. the majority of people at this concert were young children, teenagers, girls who had come here for a night out. we are seeing people celebrating their 21st birthday. this in young teenagers who have come from places like nottingham. this is notjust a place for people in manchester. it will come from all over the place. we have people who live in it city centre who want to know what is going on. before then —— before this, we saw people sitting down sitting down in disbelief. as you

said before, we have seen people who live here come down offering lifts to people. taxi drivers who have turned off the metre and are giving less to people home. —— lifts. just to offer a little bit of a suffering confusion that people are thinking and feeling. samiti does we are waiting for. they you forjoining us, add. and we are expecting to hear from greater manchester police. —— so hear from greater manchester police. —— so many details we are waiting for. just a few lines here from theresa may, and she says that the police are treating the incident as an appalling terrorist attack. and she goes on to say that they are working to establish the full details of the manchester blast. andy houli was in manchester arena, near the blast. —— holey.

andy houli was in manchester arena, nearthe blast. —— holeylj andy houli was in manchester arena, near the blast. -- holey. iwas andy houli was in manchester arena, near the blast. -- holey. i was near the box office when it happened. i was waiting for my family to come out. i was talking to one of the girls, talking about this situation. and then the door flung open. but because she had the door open, we got thrown forward, through the door. towards the arena. the explosion was behind us and force us forward. but everyone who was ten or 15 people in this, they all injured. asi 15 people in this, they all injured. as i said before, that there were about 2030 people injured. there was so about 2030 people injured. there was so much confusion over this. —— 20— 30. so you would put it as high as 20- 30 30. so you would put it as high as 20— 30 people? that number seriously

injured? yes. all fatalities? the response was pretty rapid. —— or fatalities. there are staircases around, so the ambulance as cargo down. it makes it twice as hard. when this exposure and went off, was that at the point when people were already making their way out of manchester arena? yes, they were starting to filter out. i had been seen starting to filter out. i had been seen there for about seven minutes. i could hear the singer on her last song. and then as it is, people were coming out, and then i do so this large bank, felt a lot of stuff near my ears, and it blew me forward. —— large bank. i looked behind it, there were people lying everywhere. iran into there were people lying everywhere. i ran into the steady deceiver could see my family. i couldn't find them. couldn't get a hold of them on the phone. —— i ran into the stadium to

see if i could. i started checking people who were lying there, and is said before, i didn't know if they we re said before, i didn't know if they were dead or unconscious. but i had to check in case my family were there. what were those moments like, when you were try to find your family? just felt sick to my stomach, because every time i looked ata stomach, because every time i looked at a person, as bad as it was for that person, i was praying that was not my wife or daughter. andy, you said you were in a hotel not far away. you with other people? how is in reacting? ijust went out away. you with other people? how is in reacting? i just went out to away. you with other people? how is in reacting? ijust went out to get my wife a drink. —— how is everyone reacting. just tell people about people missing and do not know what is on. they got evacuated from one end, try to get away from where the

explosion was. so everybody was stuck at the other end. so people, young kids, they are property separated from their families and under what is going on. that is andy holey who was there close to where the exposure happen. andy moore has been following the stories is the beginning. he is still with us. can you tell us what was confirmed about what went on at manchester arena? what has been confirmed is that the explosion happened at 10:35pm last night. 19 people have been confirmed dead. at least 50 a rigid. they say that they are treating it as a terrorist incident. —— 50 are injured. we heard there from andy that he was thrown into the building by the force of the explosion. we have heard of the manchester arena that the exposure was outside their venuein that the exposure was outside their venue in a public space. —— heard from. we also heard from

eyewitnesses that they were leaving the building a security guard told them to run, and they ran back inside the building. so that suggests that there may have just been a few seconds warning that something was about to happen. now, we're hearing from american sources that it may have been a suicide bomber. we have not heard that from sources here in the uk. those eyewitness accounts may suggest that the security guards knew there was a suicide bomber, and were able to give a few seconds warning. we have also heard from our correspondent that in the aftermath of the last, there were nuts and bolts on the floor. there might also have been some shrapnel included in the explosion to increase the number of casualties. the timing of this, andy, at the end of the concert, people were flowing in and out of

that foyer area. there were not security checks at that particular time. you would imagine bags were checked going in, but this was where merchandise was being sold, possibly where people were waiting to pick people up or make their way home together. yes, and according to the arena, the source of exposure exposure was outside. so their security checks would not have been involved, at all. but as you say, people would have been milling around, waiting for people to come out, many youngsters, waiting to be their parents. at the same time, the first people would have been leaving the arena to buy merchandise to remember the event. it would have been a busy area, hence the big number of casualties. and currently the uk is on a severe alert for a terror attack. you tell us what that means in real terms? would that mean

that they would have been a lot of police guards? severe is the second—highest level. it means that an attack is highly likely. the only high level and that is critical, which means that an attack is imminent. so far, the terror threat has not been changed. but it is early days. certainly, there would have been checked. they were checked by security going into the event. this was a large concert, a large venue, without too 20,000 —— with up to 20,000 people. they would have been police and security in place for it. theresa may, as the police have raided this is a terrorist attack. —— have branded this aid. have raided this is a terrorist attack. -- have branded this aid. we understand from our own sources that

there is a meeting going on in whitehall tonight. —— branded this a terrorist. they would be discussing what the uk response to this terror incident should be. police in manchester are trying to tie together information, to see if there is any additional threat. they will want to know if this was perhaps a simple suicide bomber. if it was, they would be checking out links to that person to find out if there was any imminent risk of another attack. just to add, we have heard from the greater manchester mao, andy burnham, who said that his heart goes out to families who have lost loved ones. —— mayor. he said it was a terrible night for their great city. some absolutely heartbreaking tweeds and media posts, —— tweets. this must be a

heartbreaking time for parents who perhaps haven't located children who are in hotels nearby, all sorts of places where unaccompanied children are waiting to be found by their pa rents are waiting to be found by their parents and loved ones. that's right, we understand about 50 children were in the holiday in nearby in the hotel was looking after them, as they were waiting to be reunited with their parents —— holiday inn. and some people have opened their homes to look after those children. the people who would have been going to that concert, a lot of