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15-year-old Olivia Campbell, whose mother left TV presenters in tears, confirmed dead

Olivia Campbell
Olivia Campbell

Olivia Campbell, a fifteen-year-old, was killed in the Manchester terror attack, her mother said on Tuesday night.

Ms Campbell's mother, Charlotte Campbell, paid tribute to her daughter on Facebook.

She said: "RIP my darling precious gorgeous girl Olivia Campbell taken far far to soon go sing with the angels and keep smiling mummy loves you so much."

Explosion rocks Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, in pictures

Tributes have flooded in for the teenager, as the nation had held its breath for news after her mother gave an emotional plea on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday morning.

#OliviaCampbell was the top trend on Twitter as the nation grieved for the cheerful girl, who was "music-mad" and had spoken of little else before the concert.

Olivia, from Bury, Greater Manchester, was among 22 people died who after an explosive device was detonated at an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.

A further 59 people were injured when Abedi, 22, detonated a homemade device packed with nuts and bolts in the Arena's foyer as thousands of young people left a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande.

A heartbroken Mrs Campbell had broken down in tears on ITV's Good Morning Britain earlier in the day, when her daughter was missing.

She spoke of how she had not spoken to her daughter Olivia since she set off for the event.

"All I know is she was at the Manchester Arena with her friend watching Ariana Grande and she’s not turned up yet.

"I can’t get through to her. I’ve called the hospitals, I’ve called all the places, the hotels where people say that children have been taken.

"I’ve called the police. There’s no news, I’ve just got to wait. I’m waiting at home just in case she turns up here," she told the morning program.

Victims of the Manchester suicide bomb attack named, in pictures

Ms Campbell told BBC that Olivia had been to the concert with her friend, Adam, who was receiving treatment in hospital.

"I last had contact with her at half past eight last night," she said.

"She was at the concert, she'd just seen the support act and said she was having an amazing time and thanking me for letting her go."

Olivia was with her close friend Adam Lawler when the pair were caught up in the suicide attack. Adam was rushed to hospital, where he was in a critical condition, suffering from severe blast injuries.

But no word has been heard from Olivia since she sent a text to her boyfriend half an hour before the explosion.

The lack of any news has left her family “in bits”, said Mrs Campbell.

Speaking at her home in Bury, she said: “I’ve been up all night ringing and texting people who might know where she is. I’m so exhausted I don’t know what time of day it is. It’s just horrendous.”

She added: “It’s so hard the not knowing what’s happened. If I had an answer then at least I’d know the truth.”

Adam’s parents bought him a pair of tickets to Grande’s concert for his birthday two weeks ago, and he wanted to celebrate it with Olivia - doing something they both loved.

“He wanted her to go with him because they share a real passion for music,” said Mrs Campbell, 36. “She’s been so excited about going she’s spoken about little else.

“She just loves music and she wants to be a music teacher or a singer when she’s older.”

Many children and young people are among the dead and missing. Desperate parents spent the night searching for missing loved ones, flooding social media with images as they tried to trace them.

Georgina Callander (left) pictured with singer Ariana Grande
Georgina Callander (left) pictured with singer Ariana Grande

The first victim was named as college student Georgina Callander. The 18-year-old "superfan", from Whittle-le-Woods in Lancashire, had met her idol Miss Grande in 2015 and had posted excitedly about the moment on Instagram.

Eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos from Leyland, Lancashire has also been confirmed dead after becoming separated from her mother Lisa and sister Ashlee Bromwich, who is in her 20s. They are both being treated for shrapnel injuries. 

Saffie Rose Roussos - Credit:  SWNS.com
Saffie Rose Roussos, aged eight, died in yesterday's attack in Manchester. Credit: SWNS.com

Tributes have also been paid to 26-year-old John Atkinson from Bury, who was named by friends on Facebook as a victim.

Key articles | Manchester Arena explosion

 

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