The explosions, at least one of which hit near the departure gate, collapsed ceiling panels and shattered glass windows.
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Two major rail stations – Brussels Noord and Brussels Zuid – were set to reopen on Tuesday afternoon with an additional 500 sodliers, according to La Libre newspaper. Reports also suggested shots were fire amid shouting in Arabic. Airport security was also tightened in Paris, London and other European cities.
A passenger called Veronique who had been waiting to register for a flight to France, described the chaos inside the Brussels airport.
The cause of the explosion has not yet been confirmed, but it coincided with a suspected suicide attack at Brussels Airport, which killed 14 people.
At least 13 people have been killed at the Brussels worldwide airport and subway system.
There is confusion about the casualties at the metro station. “According to the sources in the city’s rescue services, over 20 people were killed and 50 injured”, the TV channel said.
After the deadly explosion at Zaventem, another explosion took place at Maalbeek Metro station during morning rush hour in the heart of Brussels, just steps away from the headquarters of the European Union.
The attacks were condemned as “blind, violent and cowardly” by Belgian prime minister Charles Michel.
President Francois Hollande says “Terrorists struck Brussels but it was Europe that was targeted – and all the world that is concerned”.
Salah Abdeslam, the main fugitive from November’s Paris terror attack, was arrested Friday along with two other suspects in a raid on an apartment in a Brussels suburb.
Belgium’s Interior Minister, Jan Jambon, said on Monday the country was on high alert for a possible revenge attack following the capture of 26-year-old Abdeslam. One passenger on the Brussels metro captured footage of people walking along the tracks.
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Meanwhile British Airways have taken to Twitter to update travellers on flights, revealing that two have been cancelled this morning.
