AN eight-year-old girl, a teenage college student and a young man were the first victims of the suicide attack at Manchester Arena to be named.
Lancashire County Council confirmed schoolgirl Saffie Rose Roussos was among the 22 people who died at the end of the Ariana Grande concert. Twelve children under the age of 16 were among the 59 casualties taken to hospital.
Harrogate Grammar School in North Yorkshire said two of its pupils were injured in the attack.
Friends described Georgina Callander, 18, who was in her second year of a health and social care course at Runshaw College in Leyland, Lancashire, as a superfan of the US singer. Tributes were also flooding in for John Atkinson, 26, from Bury, who was described as an “amazing young man” and a “beautiful soul”, as heartbroken friends paid tribute to him on social media.
Saffie had attended the concert of the US singer with her mother Lisa and older sister, Ashlee Bromwich, both of whom are believed to be in hospital receiving treatment. Chris Upton, head teacher at Tarleton Community Primary School, said Saffie had been “simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word”.
He added: “She was loved by everyone and her warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly. News of Saffie’s death in this appalling attack has come as a tremendous shock to all of us and I would like to send our deepest condolences to all of her family and friends.
“The thought that anyone could go out to a concert and not come home is heartbreaking.”
Before Monday’s concert Georgina had sent a Twitter message to Grande, saying: “So excited to see you tomorrow”, along with a previously posted a photograph of herself with the singer taken in 2015 on her Instagram account.
Runshaw College in Leyland, Lancashire, spoke of its “enormous sadness” at the death of the former student at Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy.
“Our deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers go out to all of Georgina’s family, friends, and all of those affected by this loss,” the college said.
Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy confirmed that Georgina died as a result of the injuries she sustained.
In a statement the school said: “Georgina was a lovely young student who was very popular with her peers and the staff and always made the most of the opportunities she had at the school.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Georgina’s family at this terrible time, and we think especially of her brothers Harry and Daniel who were also former students of the school.
“All of our students will gather together today for a time of prayer and reflection and to give thanks for the life of Georgina.”
Her friends paid tribute to their “beautiful best friend” on social media and said she was one of the first people taken to hospital after the attack. There were reports that Georgina died in hospital, with her mother at her bedside.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club has paid tribute to Georgina, who had played for their under-11 girls’ team in 2010.
Club chaplain Phil Mason said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with her friends and family during this awful time of loss. Georgina and all will be remembered at our annual memorial service tonight.
“There will also be a minute’s silence before the first-team ladies’ friendly against Wigan Athletic tomorrow evening at Macron Stadium, where the team will wear black armbands.”
A fundraising page has been set-up to help Georgina’s family with funeral costs and a number of other crowdfunding campaigns were launched to help victims’ families in the aftermath of the terror attack.
The Manchester Evening News quickly set-up a JustGiving fundraising page to help support the families affected and within hours raised nearly £300,000. Stan Collymore also set up a crowdfunding page to raise £1,000,000 to “give support to the families of those lost in the Manchester Arena tragedy” and a Just Giving page was set-up by Manchester-based marketing agency Social Chain.
Thousands of people turned to social media to help find missing relatives. Charlotte Campbell has been trying to find her daughter Olivia, 15, who has not been seen since the concert blast. Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19, of South Shields, are also missing. Alex Klis, from York, is looking for her parents who have been missing since the attack.
People have also used social media to try to find missing mother Wendy Fawell, from West Yorkshire, and Kelly Brewster, from Sheffield – the latter attended with her sister Claire and niece Hollie, who were injured and are being treated in hospital.
PR manager Martyn Hett was at the arena with his friend Stuart Aspinall, who has joined appeals on social media for help finding him. Comedian Jason Manford joined appeals for Martyn, who has appeared on the TV shows Tattoo Fixers and Come Dine With Me. On Facebook, Aspinall said: “He was on his own at the time of the attack and we are not sure where about in the arena.”
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