British police have confirmed 19 people have been killed in what’s being treated as a terrorist incident at Manchester Arena, after an Ariana Grande concert Monday night.
Police are still warning people to stay away from the area as emergency services work to examine the scope of the suspected attack.
“Emergency services are currently responding to reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena. There are a number of confirmed fatalities and others injured,” Greater Manchester Police said on Twitter.
A spokesman for the pop singer’s record label said that she was “okay.”
Earlier British police said they had responded to a serious incident at a venue in the northern English city of Manchester where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing.
“Emergency services responding to serious incident at Manchester Arena,” Greater Manchester Police said. “Avoid the area.”
Witnesses reported hearing a huge bang at the venue, Sky News said on Monday.
A video posted on Twitter showed fans screaming and running inside the venue.
In 1996, less than a mile from the Manchester Arena, the site of Monday night’s explosion, the IRA detonated a powerful truck-bomb — their largest ever on the British mainland — injuring hundreds and ripping apart the city center, causing millions of dollars in damage.