Mother critically injured in Manchester attack doesn't know her 8-year-old daughter is dead
The mother of eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos, the youngest victim of the Manchester attack so far, is believed to be unaware that her daughter is dead.
Lisa Roussos, 48, is in intensive care after she was hit by shrapnel when suicide bomber Salman Abedi exploded a homemade device in the foyer of Manchester Arena following a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande.
Saffie’s sister, Ashlee Bromwich, is also being treated in a separate hospital.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, family friend Salman Patel claimed that Saffie’s mother was yet to be made aware of her daughter’s death.
He said: ‘Saffie’s sadly passed away and her mother, we understand, isn’t aware. I am praying for the family, it is totally heartbreaking.
Saffie is one of three victims that have been named among the 22 people killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up after the concert on Monday night.
Mr Patel, who works opposite the family home in Tarleton, Lancashire, also spoke of the horror faced by Saffie’s dad Andrew as he arrived at Manchester Arena to collect his daughter.
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He said: ‘He went to pick them up and arrived to find his wife in a critical condition, his elder daughter injured and his younger daughter lost. I thought he meant lost in the crowd but heartbreakingly he meant lost forever, as in the end.
‘I am praying the mum pulls through and copes with the tragedy of finding out when she does about her daughter.’
The other victims include 18-year-old Georgina Callander, a student from Lancashire, and 26-year-old John Atkinson from Bury.