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 A witness said he heard shouts in Arabic shortly before two blasts
struck the packed airport departure lounge. Pictures on social media
showed smoke rising from the terminal building through shattered
windows and passengers fleeing down a slipway, some still hauling
their bags.
All public transport in Brussels was shut down, as it was in London
during 2005 militant attacks on the underground that killed 52. A
further 225 soldiers were sent into the city and the Belgian Crisis
Centre, clearly wary of a further incident, appealed to the
population: "Stay where you are".
The blasts at the airport and metro station occurred four days after
the arrest in Brussels of a suspected participant in November
militant attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. Belgian police had
been on alert for any reprisal action.
British Sky News television's Alex Rossi, at the airport, said he
heard two "very, very loud explosions".
"I could feel the building move. There was also dust and smoke as
well...I went toward where the explosion came from and there were
people coming out looking very dazed and shocked."
Alphonse Youla, 40, who works at the airport, said he heard a man
shouting out in Arabic before the first explosion. "Then the glass
ceiling of the airport collapsed."
"I helped carry out five people dead, their legs mangled," he said,
his hands covered in blood.
The blasts triggered concern across western Europe with Britain and
France calling emergency security meetings. The Dutch military
strengthened security at airports and borders and Britain stepped up
police presence at key locations including transport hubs.
Video showed devastation inside the departure hall with ceiling
tiles and glass scattered across the floor. Some passengers emerged
from the terminal with blood spattered over their clothes. Others
sat wrapped with blankets.
A witness said the blasts occurred at a check-in desk.
Belga news agency cited the fire brigade as saying 11 were killed at
the airport, but there was still some uncertainty about casualties.
The metro station hit by the explosion was Maelbeek, close to
European Union institutions.
The VRT broadcaster carried a photograph of a metro carriage at a
platform with doors and windows completely blown out, its structure
deformed and the interior mangled and charred. It said ten were
killed in the blast.
A local journalist tweeted a photograph of a person lying covered in
blood among smoke outside Maelbeek metro station, on the main Rue de
la Loi avenue which connects central Brussels with the EU
institutions.
Ambulances were ferrying the wounded away and sirens rang out across
the area.
FLIGHTS CANCELED, PASSENGERS EVACUATED
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said on his twitter feed: "We
are following the situation minute by minute...For now, we are
asking everyone to avoid all movement."
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British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose country is also on a
high security alert, expressed shock over the attack. "We will do
everything we can to help."
Brussels airport said it had canceled all flights until at least 6
a.m. (0500 GMT) on Wednesday and the complex had been evacuated and
trains to the airport had been stopped. Passengers were taken to
coaches from the terminal that would remove them to a secure area.
All three main long-distance rail stations in Brussels were closed
and train services on the cross-channel tunnel from London to
Brussels were suspended.
Security services have been on a high state of alert across western
Europe for fear of militant attacks backed by Islamic State, which
claimed responsibility for the Paris attack.
While most European airports are known for stringent screening
procedures of passengers and their baggage, that typically takes
place only once passengers have checked in and are heading to the
departure gates.
Although there may be discreet surveillance, there is nothing to
prevent member of the public walking in to the departure hall at
Zaventem airport with heavy baggage.
Following an attempted ramraid attack at Glasgow Airport in 2007,
several airports stepped up security at entrances by altering the
pick-up and drop-off zones to prevent private cars getting too close
to terminal buildings.
European stocks fell after the explosions, particularly travel
sector stocks including airlines and hotels, pulling the broader
indices down from multi-week highs. Safe-haven assets, gold and
government bonds rose in price.
French citizen Salah Abdeslam, the prime surviving suspect for
November's Paris attacks on a stadium, cafes and a concert hall, was
captured by Belgian police after a shootout on Friday.
Belgium's Interior Minister, Jan Jambon, said on Monday the country
was on high alert for a revenge attack.
"We know that stopping one cell can ... push others into action. We
are aware of it in this case," he told public radio.
(Reporting by Barbara Lewis; Additional reporting by Andrew Heavens;
Editing by Ralph Boulton)
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