Nightclub massacre triggers Facebook Safety Check

For the first time in the US, Facebook has used its Safety Check feature to allows users to let their friends and family know they were safe.

Facebook's Safety Check feature has been activated in response to the Orlando, Florida attack. Source: Facebook

Facebook has activated its "Safety Check" function for the first time in the United States after a gunman massacred 50 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

The Safety Check, first introduced in October 2014, allows Facebook users to spread the word that they are safe in wake of a natural disaster or a crisis, and allows searches for those who might be in the affected area.

"Waking up this morning, I was horrified to hear about the shooting in Orlando," said Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on his official account.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and the LGBT community."

A gunman armed with an assault rifle killed 50 people at a packed gay nightclub in Orlando on Sunday in the worst mass shooting in US modern history.

Police killed the shooter at the Pulse nightclub, who was identified as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old Florida resident and US citizen.

The incident quickly emerged as a top trending topic on Facebook and Twitter with hashtag #PrayforOrlando being one of the top posts throughout the day.

Last year, Facebook vowed to turn on the Safety Check more often during disasters in response to criticism that it enabled the function after Islamic State militant attacks on Paris and not a day earlier when a bomb killed at least 43 people in Beirut.