As many as 13 people were killed and 35 others injured after a suicide bomber struck the Brussels airport this morning. Shortly after 8am local time, two loud explosions shook the airport building sending frightened passengers fleeing for their lives.
Sometime later, an explosion was heard near a city metro station in what appears to be a separate terror attack, in which 15 people were killed. The coordinated attacks came as the Belgian capital was on a high alert following the arrest of Paris atrocity suspect Salah Abdeslam in the city last week.
According to a news report, shots were fired and words in Arabic shouted before the blasts were heard near the American Airlines check-in desk in the departure hall. The terror threat has been increased to its maximum level in Belgium. At least one explosion hit the Metro system near a station close to European Union buildings. It is feared that 15 died in the metro station blast, taking the current death toll reportedly to 28.
Airport video footage showed people fleeing from an explosion that blew out the glass frontage of a terminal building. Photographs from inside the building showed a scene of devastation with ceiling tiles strewn across the floor and suitcases abandoned. “We heard a very big bang, followed by a second. I could tell it was at the level of the departure hall. People were hiding under chairs and sofas as the ceiling came down,” an eyewitness told Brussels Radio.
A crisis centre has been opened and it told people not to come to the airport. Roads surrounding the airport were closed and all the flights in and out of Brussels have been cancelled.
#BREAKING: Video of the scene of explosion near #Brussels metro pic.twitter.com/8BMZbv0Pyb
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) March 22, 2016
#BREAKING: Bombs detonated next to American Airlines desk at Zaventem airport in Brussels: 10+ injured pic.twitter.com/ykDpsc6hgV
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) March 22, 2016
#BREAKING: 11 killed, 25 injured. Passengers being evacuated from gates (video: @sammaes) #Zaventem #Brussels pic.twitter.com/dNFlamxAqa
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) March 22, 2016
#BREAKING: atleast 10 dead and 25 injured in terror attack at #Zaventem Airport #Brussels pic.twitter.com/zmPqKe7W6i
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) March 22, 2016