Manchester residents reached out with offers to help concertgoers who were stranded or separated from their loved ones in the chaos after Monday night’s explosion outside an Ariana Grande concert.
At least 22 people were killed by a suspected suicide attacker.
Using the hashtag #RoomForManchester, residents opened their homes to people who couldn’t get home and offered rides to get them home safely.
With the nearby train station closed through Tuesday, and traffic in the city at a standstill, the hashtag #RoomForManchester began trending on Twitter, as local residents took to social media with offers of spare rooms and warm beds to rest. Some even offered tea, biscuits, hot soup and phone chargers.
In the face of tragedy, strangers reached out to help with similar overtures that surfaced on social media after events such as the terror attacks in Paris in November 2015 and suicide bombings in Brussels in March 2016.
Social media users got the hashtag trending.
One local councilor tweeted “Mancunians opening their homes to those stranded, and businesses offering free rides. This is the manchester I love.”
While acknowledging the intention behind such offers, some on Twitter warned teens to be cautious about going into random people’s homes and to stay in a group.
Others offered to pay for hotel rooms for people stranded and in need of a room.
