At least 34 people were killed and many more injured after coordinated bomb attacks on the main airport and the Metro system brought terror to Brussels.
Brussels Attacks: At least one UK national thought to be amongst victims
Update: Third bomb discovered and destroyed
The attacks, condemned as “blind, violent and cowardly” by Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, came after the arrest in the city last week of terror mastermind Salah Abdeslam, who plotted November’s Paris atrocity from the notorious Molenbeek suburb of Brussels.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to a news agency close to the group.
Responding to the attacks, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said “We are at war. In Europe we have been subjected to acts of war for several months.”
A suicide bomber struck first near the American Airlines desk at Brussels airport, with local media reporting that shots were fired amid shouting in Arabic.
The explosion on the Metro was near European Union buildings and the US embassy.
On the Metro, traveller Evan Lamos tweeted a picture of passengers climbing from his train into the tunnel, saying: “We are being evacuated from the back of the Metro, between Schuman and Maelbeek.
“Smoke in the tunnel as we evacuate.”
The picture was reminiscent of images after the July 7 attacks in London.
Images on social media showed the injured being treated in the street.
As well as the airport, the whole Metro system was closed.
Brussels police have said there were also deaths at Maelbeek police station near EU headquarters during this mornings attacks.
Brussels police spokesman Christian De Coninck says there were deaths at the Maelbeek police station near European Union headquarters.
He says: “There are victims, serious injury, people have died. I have no idea yet on the numbers of injured or dead.”
The first news of the attack came when the airport was rocked by a double blast with reports of up to 10 dead and many more injured.
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.
“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.
“Mr Versele was two or three storeys above the source of the explosion but he said many people around him were hurt.
“The bomb was coming from downstairs. It was going up through the roof. It was big.
“About 15 windows were just blown out from the entrance hall”, he added.
The explosion was close to the American Airlines desk.
Images on social media showed shattered windows and smoke rising from an airport building.
People could be seen fleeing in terror in video footage shot from an airport car park.
Footage from inside the building showed a scene of devastation with ceiling tiles strewn across the floor and suitcases abandoned.
Passengers were led onto the tarmac and travellers were urged to stay away from the airport.
Sky News Middle East correspondent Alex Rossi, who was at the airport en route for Tel Aviv, told the channel people were “dazed and shocked”.
Mr Rossi, who had checked his luggage through the main baggage area and was at a departure gate, said he thought he was “fairly close” to the explosions but he could not be sure.
He told Sky News as he was being ushered out of the airport along with other passengers: “We felt the walls of the building rock. Dust came down from the ceiling.”
Brussels Airport, which handles serving 23.5 million passengers per year, told users on Twitter: “There have been 2 explosions at the airport.
“Building is being evacuated. Don’t come to the airport area.
“Don’t come to the airport – airport is being evacuated. Avoid the airport area. Flights have been cancelled.
“All airport operations have been suspended until further notice. Follow the information on our website.
“Passengers that are still located in other areas in the airport are asked to remain calm and wait for further information.”
Anthony Deloos, an employee of services company Swissport, said the first explosion took place near a counter where customers pay for overweight baggage. He and colleague said second blast was near the Starbucks.
“Twenty metres from us we heard a big explosion,” and shredded paper was flying through the air, Mr Deloos said. He first thought a billboard had fallen down, but a colleague told him to run.
“I jumped into a luggage chute to be safe,” he said.
Meanwhile France’s top security official said the country is reinforcing security at airports, train stations and metros.
Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said France immediately increased its vigilance after the attacks.
Brussels police spokesman Christian De Coninck said there were deaths at the Maelbeek police station near European Union headquarters.
He said: “There are victims, serious injury, people have died. I have no idea yet on the numbers of injured or dead.”
Prime Minister David Cameron called a meeting of the Government’s Cobra emergency committee and tweeted a message of support, saying:
“I am shocked and concerned by the events in Brussels. We will do everything we can to help.”
Foreign secretary Philip Hammond, speaking in Downing Street, said: “It’s an ongoing incident. We are in contact with the Belgian authorities and we will give them every assistance we can.”
Security has been increased at London Gatwick following the explosions in Brussels, an airport spokesman said today.
EU staff are being told to stay at home.
Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, tweeted: “Following situation in Brussels.
EU institutions working together to ensure security of staff & premises. Please stay home or inside buildings.”
Were attacks planned in advance?
The Brussels attacks would have taken “quite a while” to plan as they involved explosives and targeting an airport, an international security expert has said.
Shashank Joshi, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, urged caution in viewing the atrocities solely as revenge for the arrest of Paris plotter Salah Abdeslam.
He said: “This would take quite a while to plan, particularly involving an explosive, involving an airport. We should be wary of seeing it purely as a retaliation for Salah Abdeslam’s arrest.”
Terrorists risk the higher security at sites like airports in a bid to gain international attention, he said.
“It is higher security than a metro stop or a concert venue. It’s an international site. It’s almost a trade-off between dealing with higher security and the number of headlines.”
Belgium’s terror threat level was only raised to the maximum level in the wake of the explosions at Brussels airport and the metro system, but Mr Joshi said it is “far too premature” to blame the country’s law and security forces.
“The maximum level can involve very costly, very burdensome measures which cannot be sustained for a long period of time. It’s like an army mobilising. Intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies face very difficult challenges. It’s far too premature to blame them for their choices.
“Not all of these attacks are intelligence failures. It’s an intelligence failure if it was something that was known and wasn’t used, or dots weren’t connected.”
At least 34 people were killed and 170 injured after coordinated bomb attacks on the main airport and the Metro system brought terror to Brussels.
The attacks, condemned as “blind, violent and cowardly” by Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, came after the arrest in the city last week of terror mastermind Salah Abdeslam, who plotted November’s Paris atrocity from the notorious Molenbeek suburb of Brussels.
Responding to the attacks, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said:
“We are at war. In Europe we have been subjected to acts of war for several months.”
Belgian foreign minister Didier Reynders warned: “We fear that people are still at large.”
David Cameron hit out at “inappropriate” attempts to link the terror attacks to the debate on Britain’s future in the EU, adding that the countries of Europe need to “stand together against these appalling terrorists and make sure they can never win”.
A suicide bomber struck first near the American Airlines desk at Brussels airport, with local media reporting that shots were fired amid shouting in Arabic.
The explosion on the Metro was near European Union buildings and the US embassy.
As the city went into lockdown:
Broadcaster RTBF reported 20 people were killed following the explosion at Maelbeek metro station, while 14 died in a suicide attack at the airport
The number of injured people in both attacks is believed to be 170
Downing Street said one British national is known to have been injured at the airport
Police forces across the UK increased their presence at key locations as a precaution Britons in Brussels were advised by the Foreign Office to avoid crowded places and public transport
First news of the attacks came when the airport was rocked by a double blast around 7am UK time.
Jef Versele, 40, from Ghent, told the Press Association: “I was on my way to check in and two bombs went off – two explosions.
“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.”
Mr Versele was two or three storeys above the source of the explosion but he said many people around him were hurt.
“The bomb was coming from downstairs. It was going up through the roof. It was big.
“About 15 windows were just blown out from the entrance hall,” he added.
The attack on the Metro came about an hour later.
Evan Lamos tweeted a picture of passengers climbing from his train into the tunnel near Maelbeek station, saying: “We are being evacuated from the back of the Metro.
“Smoke in the tunnel as we evacuate.”
The picture was reminiscent of images after the July 7 attacks in London.
Other images showed the injured from the Metro being treated in the street while at the airport people could be seen fleeing in terror in video footage shot from an airport car park.
Footage from inside the airport building showed a scene of devastation with ceiling tiles strewn across the floor and suitcases abandoned.
Responding to the attacks, Prime Minister Michel said: “A series of additional security measures have been taken at this moment.
“Military reinforcements have been deployed, reinforcement of border controls and specific restrictions on public transport have been put into place at this time.
“I also would like to say that in this tragic and dark moment for our country, more than ever I call everyone to show calm but also solidarity.
“We are faced with a challenge, a difficult challenge, and we have to face this challenge being united, showing solidarity and being together.”
Speaking to reporters in Whitehall, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who used to live in Brussels, said Britain “must show maximum possible solidarity with the people of Brussels and Belgium”.
Timeline of events
There were two explosions at Brussels Zaventem Airport at around 7am UK time.
About an hour later there was an explosion on the Metro at Maelbeek station, near the city’s EU quarter.
The death toll is at least 34. Fourteen people are reported to have been killed at the airport and 20 in the explosion on the Metro.
The attacks are believed to have injured around 170 people. Of those at least one is British and was injured at the airport, Downing Street said.
The attack at the airport targeted an American Airlines desk and was probably carried out by a suicide bomber, Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said.
Local media reported that shouts in Arabic were heard during the attack at the airport.
Two Kalashnikov rifles were found in the airport departure lounge after the attacks, a European security official said.