LONDON, May 27 (Xinhua) -- As British police continue to hunt the terror network behind the suicide bombing Monday night at the Manchester Arena, heartbreak stories have emerged from families of the 22 killed and those injured.
Here one family describe to Xinhua the devastating impact which the bomb exploded by Salman Abedi has had on their family.
Paul Price decided to surprise his 13-year-old daughter Gabrielle, buying a ticket for her and her friend to watch the concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena.
The teen and her pal were so excited as Price and his partner Elaine McIver, a 43-year-old police detective, dropped them off at the venue, before heading for a meal. As the concert drew to a close, Price and partner waited in the foyer to meet the girls.
Then the bomb was detonated, just meters away from where they waited.
In Liverpool, 55 kilometers from Manchester, John Price, a retired train driver aged 79, sobbed as he talked about his son and the woman who helped rebuild his life after a painful divorce.
Price's dad lives with his wife, Joan Price, aged 84. Both are not in good health -- he with a heart condition while his wife having suffered a stroke.
Price senior said: "When Paul met Elaine, an angel walked into his life. He had been in a very dark place following a very acrimonious divorce, and at one time had a breakdown. But he was trying to get on with his life, working on the production line at the Jaguar car plant.
"He used to go to a local gym up and a group of them would go running along the riverfront promenade. Paul had not shown any interest in any ladies following his divorce. But one of the runners was a policewoman who told Paul she would like to introduce him to one of her friends. She thought they would make a nice couple.
"Eventually Paul agreed to meet her friend. It was Elaine and they hit it off straight away. They became inseparable and Paul went to live with Elaine. We were happy for them, Elaine's parents were great and got on well with Paul, and we also met them.
"After so many dark years Paul had spent, this was like a miracle. Elaine was an angel. We joked about them living together, but we laughed it off saying we were old fashioned. They told us they would get married eventually. They could not have been happier together. Elaine had never married; she was a career police officer," said Price senior.
At the Manchester bombing, McIver was killed. Price survived but is in critical care in hospital, with shrapnel wounds across his body and serious burns to his head and face, and a smashed leg.
Still unconscious through induced sedation, Price is still unaware that the woman he was planning to marry did not make it.
"We dread the moment he finds out Elaine didn't survive. He doesn't know yet she is gone," Price senior said. "The doctors told us that the terrorists had put nasty things in the bomb."
Miles, who is Paul's son, is there all the time at his bedside. He is doing pharmacy at Keele University and has had to somehow get through his exams.
Price senior said, "We are devastated beyond belief. It is just like a bad dream. When Paul met Elaine it seemed too good to be true. Now we dread the future. We are hoping Paul will recover and he will come here to be looked after."
Brother Mark said: "Paul is still under sedation and is in critical care. They tried to bring him out of induced sedation, but he had to be re-sedated. He suffered burns to his head and face and shrapnel injuries across his body.
"Luckily he appears to have escaped brain injury and his vital organs are ok.... They can't repair his leg at the moment. He has been unconscious since it happened... We are dreading the moment Paul is told about what happened to Elaine," Mark said.
Media in Britain is capturing heartrending stories of the impact of the terror attack on their families
