BREAKING: Brussels Attacks – Airport and Metro Station
A series of explosions have made their way through the departure hall of a Brussels airport and a metro station in the Belgian capital, killing at least 34 people and leaving many more wounded.
Two blasts targeted the main hall of Zaventem airport at about 8am local time (7am GMT) with a third detonating in Maelbeek metro station, about 100 metres from the headquarters of the European commission, shortly afterwards, as commuters were making their way to work in the rush hour.
Occurring just four days after the Belgian Authorities arrested the only known survivor of a group of 10 Islamist attackers who killed 130 people in a string of suicide bombings and shootings in Paris in November.
The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, described the attack as “a black day for Belgium”. “What we feared, has happened,” he said, adding that authorities are worried about the possibility of more attacks. “We realise we face a tragic moment. We have to be calm and show solidarity.”
Maggie de Block, the Belgian health minister, said 14 people died and 81 were injured in the airport explosions, which the Belgian federal prosecutor, Frederic Van Leeuw, said were caused by a suicide attack. The Belga news agency quoted witnesses at the airport as saying shots were fired and shouts in Arabic heard shortly before the blasts.
The Belgian metro authority, STIB-MIVB, and emergency services said 20 people were killed in the Maelbeek metro blast. STIB-MIVB said a further 55 people were injured, including 10 critically.
In London, the British prime minister, David Cameron, said he would chair a meeting of the Cobra response committee following the explosions.
“I am shocked and concerned by the events in Brussels. We will do everything we can to help,” Cameron said on Twitter.
- TEXT CREDIT: The Guardian (edited)
- Phantom Refers Readers to the Guardian Website for more updates.
