A suicide bomber blew himself up at Brussels airport on Tuesday killing at least 11 people and a further blast tore through a rush-hour metro train in the capital shortly afterwards, claiming 10 lives, according to public broadcaster VRT.
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Hundreds of travellers fled when two devices were detonated at the American Airlines check-in desk at Brussels Airport. The whole metro system in Brussels has also been closed following the Brussels attacks.
“We were fearing terrorist attacks, and that has now happened”, Belgian prime minister Charles Michel told reporters.
“One person has died and perhaps there are several more”, said a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the situation was developing.
Brussels officials raised the terror threat level to four, the highest level.
At least 13 people were killed and dozens others were injured in multiple explosions at an airport and a metro station in Brussels Tuesday morning, Belgian media reported.
“I was just on my way to work when I heard about the airport explosion”, he told host Matt Galloway. The first one was bigger.
Police in the Netherlands said an worldwide train from Brussels to Amsterdam was halted at a station one stop from Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport as officers searched passengers and the train. “It was panic everywhere”.
Anthony Barrett said he heard something about 8 a.m. local time from his hotel across from the terminal building.
“You should remain alert and vigilant, especially in places where there’s a high concentration of people”, said the UK Home Office. “There were a lot of people in the metro”, the 32-year-old said.
Brussels Airport has warned people not to visit the scene and have requested all passengers stay away.
Copenhagen Airport announced on its website that all flights to Brussels had been “cancelled until further notice” .
After his arrest, Abdeslam told authorities he had created a new network and was planning new attacks.
The blasts come days after the capture of prime Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam in Brussels which killed 130 people.
Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said France immediately increased its vigilance after the attacks.
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Dion said he has “no reports of any Canadian citizens being affected by the incidents”.
