Brussels explosions: At least 34 dead in terror strike at heart of Belgian capital

Three separate blasts rock the city of Brussels in major terror attack

A terror strike in the heart of Brussels today claimed the lives of at least 34 people, with Islamic State claiming responsibility for the killings.

Two explosions in the departures area of Brussels Airport killed 14 people. They were followed shortly afterwards by another blast on the city's Metro, which killed at least 20 people on a busy train.

The Belgian federal prosecutor said all three explosions were terrorist attacks.

A news agency affiliated with Islamic State said in a statement this afternoon that the groups's fighters had launched the attacks armed with "explosive belts and devices".

The first blasts which hit the city this morning are believed to have happened near the airport's American Airlines and Brussels Airlines check-in desks.

Up to 14 people died in the attack in the airport’s departure hall at 8am (7am GMT). At least thirty five people were seriously injured.

Then 79 minutes later at 9.19am, at least 20 people were killed and 55 injured, some critically, when a blast hit a Metro station just 400 metres from the EU headquarters in the city centre.

An injured woman sits on a chair at Brussels airport in the aftermath of a suicide attack

There were also reports of deaths at a police station in central Brussels near the EU buildings.

Police recovered an AK47 rifle and unexploded bomb belt among debris at the airport. One Brit was confirmed to have been injured in the explosion at the airport.

It was not clear if the terrorists were trying to smuggle a bomb onto a plane and were intercepted or if they had planned to cause the bloodshed at the terminal.

Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said: “There were two explosions in the departure area, one probably caused by a suicide bomber.”

Brussels residents were told to stay at home, not to make phone calls to avoid paralysing the communications network, and school children were not allowed home at lunchtime.

Prime Minister Charles Michel condemned the attackers as “cowards”, adding: “This is a dark moment for our nation. We need calm and solidarity.”

The city was on high alert following the arrest of Paris atrocity suspect Salah Abdeslam last week.

Following the attacks, Belgium’s terror threat level was raised to its maximum.

Prime Minister Charles Michel said "what we feared has happened" and confirmed there were "many dead" but did not specify numbers.

He added: "We realise we face a tragic moment. We have to be calm and show solidarity."

Scenes of carnage: Blown out windows at Brussels Airport following the explosions
Jef Versele/PA

The blasts at Brussels Airport happened shortly before 8am local time (7am GMT). All flights were diverted from the airport this morning as it remained on lockdown.

Video and photographs from the scene showed smoke rising from one of the terminal buildings in the suburb of Zaventem.

People were also seen running from the smoking wreckage, with blown out windows visible behind them.

The roof of its Departures building collapsed, and its entire glass front was shattered.

Security services at the airport ordered passengers to drop their bags and evacuate.

Aftermath: Tiles fell from the ceiling near check-in desks
PA Wire

Jef Versele, 40, from Ghent, Belgium, was at the airport when he heard the two explosions.

"I was on my way to check in and two bombs went off - two explosions," he said.

Blasts: Smoke is seen rising from terminal buildings

"I didn't see anything. Everything was coming down. Glassware. It was chaos it was unbelievable. It was the worst thing."

He added: "People were running away, there were lots of people on the ground. A lot of people are injured."

Air passengers were driven to a crisis centre close to the airport, with women and children given emergency priority.

Armed police in protective clothing combed the building for more wounded travellers and suspicious bags.

Londoner Anthony Barrett watched the chaos unfold from his hotel room opposite the airport. After hearing two loud explosions he told how police were evacuating the airport in the minutes after.

“From my hotel room I can see one person lying on the ground,” he tweeted. “Fire engines and more ambulances arriving. I can see someone being rushed away on a stretcher.”

He added: “Multiple casualties. Some being taken to ambulances on luggage trolleys. I have now seen 22 stretchered casualties.”

Mr Barrett, who works for the Wales audit office, at one point told how armed police and soldiers were taking cover behind parked cars.

Brussels terror attacks

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He wrote: “May have a suspect cornered. Hotel being used as an evacuation and casualty centre. Currently using bomb dogs to sweep the hotel.”

There was speculation that an Islamic State cell was behind the carnage.

Some of those responsible for similar attacks on Paris last November, when 130 people were murdered, are known to still be at large.

Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old terrorist involved in the atrocities in the French capital, was captured in his home city of Brussels last Friday, and officials warned of ‘possible revenge attacks’.

Belgian MP Georges Dallemagne had just dropped his wife off at the airport today when she heard the ‘massive explosions’ and the roof caved in.

"I dropped her off around 7.40am this morning, and she called me to say that there were explosions around 7.58am.

"She ran away immediately, in a state of shock, towards the Sheraton Hotel. Then she returned to pick up her baggage, realizing that the danger in this zone had passed.

"It was then that she saw broken windows, victims leaving the airport, the elderly put on stretchers, and the emergency services arriving.

"She saw a part of the ceiling had collapsed. She said the two explosions were around the departure hall."

Sky News Middle East correspondent Alex Rossi, who was at the airport en route for Tel Aviv, told the channel: "I could feel the buildings move."

According to reports the incident centred on an American Airlines desk in a departure hall.

Mr Rossi told Sky News people were "dazed and shocked".

Brussels Airport

Brussels Airport is one of Europe’s largest, with 239,349 flights and 23.5 million passengers last year.

Located in the north-west of the city, in the area of Zaventem, it is operated by Brussels Airport Company, under a licence from the Belgian state.

Seventy-seven airlines use Brussels, connecting to 226 destinations around the globe.

Construction of the airport at Zaventem began in 1956. Brussels’ first airport had been at Haren and built by the Germans during the First World War. A second was built at Melsbroek before that was considered too small to deal with the passengers coming for the 1958 World Exhibition and so Zaventem was built.

Modernisation of the airport began in January, 1985.

About 489,000 tonnes of cargo go through the airport as well. It is responsible for the direct and indirect employment of 60,000 people.

"The word is definitely two explosions.

"The thinking here by everybody is that it is some kind of terrorist attack although that hasn't been verified by anyone here at the airport.

"No word too of casualties. Don't know how the explosion took place, the method if you like. But it certainly seems Brussels airport has been targeted in a terrorist attack.”

Jan Jambon, Belgium’s Interior Minister, said the country was on high alert for a possible revenge attack following the capture of Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam in a flat in Brussels on Friday.

The FTSE 100 dropped 0.5 per cent, while airline and travel company stocks were hit.

Eurostar suspended services to and from Brussels Midi station. Passengers were being advised to postpone journeys and services were terminating at Lille.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson tweeted: “Shocked and saddened by events in Brussels — the thoughts of Londoners are with the victims this morning.”

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and top commissioners were due to hold meetings at the EU HQ with high ranking figures, including German ministers, the governor of the Bank of France and UN Under-Secretary generals.

Belgian security forces will face questions over the latest attacks, with claims that their police and intelligence service failed to properly share information.

Security was stepped up at London airports and in London the Metropolitan Police said it would be mobilising extra officers to reassure the public.

A Heathrow spokesman said: “In the light of events in Brussels airport, we are working with the police at Heathrow who are providing a high visibility presence.

“We expect flights to Brussels airport to be affected and ask passengers travelling there to check their flight status with their airline.”

A Gatwick airport spokesman added: “As a result of the terrible incidents in Brussels, we have increased our security presence and patrols around the airport.”

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