Second Manchester bomb victim named as eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos

An eight-year-old girl, who was described by her school as “simply beautiful”, was the youngest fatality named so far of the suicide bomber who struck at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

Saffie Rose Roussos was one of 22 children, teenagers and adults who died in an attack which left at least 59 people suffering shrapnel wounds from the blast.

Saffie, a pupil at Tarleton Community primary school near Preston, Lancashire, was with her mother Lisa and sister Ashlee Bromwich to watch Grande, who counts children from primary age through to their late teens as fans.

It is understood Saffie’s mother and sister are being treated in hospital.

Chris Upton, her headteacher, said Saffie was “simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word.”

“She was loved by everyone and her warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly. Saffie was quiet and unassuming with a creative flair.”

The news of her death had come as a tremendous shock, he added. “The thought that anyone could go out to a concert and not come home is heartbreaking.”

Georgina Callander, 18, was confirmed as another fatality.

Callander, who was studying health and social care at Runshaw College in Leyland, Lancashire, sent a Twitter message to Grande on Sunday, saying: “SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU TOMORROW.”

She had previously posted a photograph of herself with the singer taken in 2015 on her Instagram account.

Runshaw College said: “It is with enormous sadness that it appears that one of the people who lost their lives in Monday’s Manchester attack was one of our students here at Runshaw College ... Our deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers go out to all of Georgina’s friends, family, and all of those affected by this loss.”

The college said it was offering counselling with a dedicated student support team to people close to the teenager.

Friends of John Atkinson, 26, from Radcliffe, said he had died in the terror attack and paid tribute to him in the Manchester Evening News.

On Facebook, one friend, Taliè Andrèa, called him “a beautiful soul”. Tracey Crolla wrote: “Thinking of all the Atkinsons at this very sad time. John Atkinson you turned into an amazing young man so kind and thoughtful you will be missed by everyone x x.”

Throughout Tuesday the relatives of at least 15 teenagers and adults, aged between 14 and 44, continued increasingly desperate searches for their missing loved ones.

Deborah Hutchinson, from Gateshead, travelled to Manchester on Tuesday morning in the hope of finding her teenage daughter, Courtney Boyle, who has been missing since the attack. In an appeal on Facebook, she wrote that Courtney was with her partner, Philip Tron, and by 8am on Tuesday neither had been located.

She wrote: “My daughter Courtney Boyle and partner Philip Tron have gone missing tonight in a attack at Manchester tonight please share and help find them I need them home safe xX.”

The mother of Olivia Campbell, 15, from Bury, confiormed that the teenager had died in the atack. Charlotte Campbell had made a public appeal for help in finding her daughter, who was a pupil at Tottington High School, but she posted news of her death on Facebook in the early hours of Wednesday.

Kelly Brewster, 32, a local government worker reported missing on Tuesday, was also confirmed as being dead on Wednesday.

Paul Dryhurst, a relative, said she had been in the arena with her sister Claire Booth, 34 and Claire’s daughter Hollie, 11.

Claire and Hollie were being treated in hospital on Tuesday for shrapnel wounds. Dryhurst said the trio were walking in single file out of the arena when the blast struck, breaking Booth’s jaw and her daughter’s legs.

Dan Hett was looking for his brother Martyn who had gone to the concert with his friend, Stuart Aspinall.

Dan said on Tuesday that he still had no news of his brother - who was due to travel to America for a two-month holiday on Wednesday.

Hett’s stepmother Kathryn said: “We just heard he was there with friends and got separated from them. We haven’t seen him since. His phone’s off now. You can’t help thinking the longer it goes on, the worst could have happened.

“He’s got so many friends, he has a huge network. If he was safe he would have made an attempt to get in touch with somebody.”

Family members of a young couple, Chloe Rutherford, 17 and Liam Curry, 19, from South Shields, were also in Manchester searching for them.

A relative Bernard Wills, 36, said everyone was trying to do their bit.

“They are a great young couple, really loving, with a bright future ahead and there’s nobody that doesn’t like them,” he said.

“Nobody ever has a bad word to say about them, so we’re all a bit worried.

“I think it was Liam’s treat to Chloe this time, they’d gone down to enjoy a night away together.”

The search for missing victims was complicated by the sharing on social media of apparently fake reports of victims.

On the tiny Hebridean island of Barra, islanders were waiting for news of two teenagers who had travelled to Manchester for their first concert. Laura MacIntyre, 15, went missing along with her close friend Eilidh MacLeod.

Laura was found in hospital with very serious burns on Tuesday afternoon. “We’re just getting confirmation of that ourselves,” said Donald Manford, a local councillor and great uncle of Eilidh. “She is very seriously injured and ill,” he said.

Manford said he had yet to hear any word about Eilidh, 14. “She’s a very vibrant young person, who’s very involved in the community. When we have ceilidhs, she’s a dancer and a piper,” he said earlier on Tuesday. “It’s a very anxious time.”

Eilidh’s mother, Marion, had been waiting in a hotel to hear from them when the concert ended. She received a text message to say they would be out soon. She arrived to see people running out of the building and began a desperate search for the girls, calling hospitals and visiting hotels.

MacNeil said the 1,000 islanders were now feeling extremely tense after so long without news. “Everyone hopes against hope as time goes on,” he said. “People are in shock. If you don’t know the kids, you will know their parents or their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.”

Another of the missing was Kaia Kopusar, 17.

Her friend Ecrin Javakovic said Kaia was from France and had travelled to Manchester for the gig. “There is still no news of her,” she said. Kaia’s parents, who are in France, had been phoning hospitals in Manchester for news of her but had heard nothing, Javakovic said.

Alison Howe, who had been reported missing by her stepson after going to the arena to pick up her daughter, was confirmed dead on Wednesday morning by a family member on social media.

Her friend Lisa Lees, who had also been missing after waiting to pick up her daughter, was also killed, it was confirmed on Wednesday.

The family and friends of 14-year-old Nell Jones used the hashtag PrayforNell to appeal for help in finding her. Nell, a pupil at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, who attended the concert on crutches, has not been heard from since the concert.

Denis Oliver, headteacher at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, said: “We are this morning offering support to a number of students and their families who were affected by the shocking events in Manchester last evening.

“We believe that one student remains unaccounted for and I have spoken directly with the family.

“This is an unbelievably difficult time for everyone affected by this terrible incident and our thoughts are with the families most affected.”

York College student Alex Klis has made an appeal to find her parents, Angelika and Marcin, who have not been seen since the blast.

In a Facebook post, she said: “Anyone who is in any safe place or hospital in Manchester, if anyone comes across my parents please please let me know as they’ve been missing ever since the attack, this is a picture taken tonight so this is exactly what they were wearing.”

A spokesperson from York College said they understood two students had been affected by the blast. In a statement the college said: “One student sustained a head injury, the other is searching for her missing parents. We will do all we can to help and support those affected by this awful tragedy, and we are shocked and deeply saddened by what has happened.”

An emergency number is available for those concerned about loved ones or anyone who may have been in the area. The National Casualty Bureau number to call is 0800 096 0095