Blast at the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels
Standard
Maelbeek Metro . Police sealed off the area. Wounded treated outside
Federal Public Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw confirmed that the Maalbeek metro station blast was a terrorist attack, according to the Belga news agency.
Large amounts of smoke were seen coming out of the metro station in the Belgian capital. Brussels’ transport authority says all metro stations in the city have been closed, Reuters reports.
An AP reporter said he say a number of people with facial injuries following the explosion at the Maalbeek metro station. Alexandre Brans, who was wiping blood from his face, said that he saw at least two people being carried away on stretchers.
“The metro was leaving Maelbeek station when there was a really loud explosion. It was panic everywhere. There were a lot of people in the metro,” he said.
A blast at the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels has killed at least 20 people according the Belgian television station VRT. The explosion took place less than an hour after a deadly airport bombing, which killed at least 14 people.
The Belgian broadcaster, cited by Reuters, mentions that the death toll has reached at least 20 people.
The Brussels mayor Yvan Mayuer also confirmed that at least 20 people had been killed following the blast on the metro.
“There are some 20 people dead and 106 people injured. 17 people are severely injured,”he said.
The Federal Public Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw confirmed that the Maalbeek metro station blast was a terrorist attack, according to the Belga news agency.
Large amounts of smoke were seen coming out of the metro station in the Belgian capital. Brussels’ transport authority says all metro stations in the city have been closed, Reuters reports.RT news
Two blasts rocked Brussels’ Zaventem Airport
.
IMAGE: Damage inside Brussels airport
Fourteen people have been killed and dozens others injured after two blasts rocked Brussels’ Zaventem Airport.
The terrorist link has been confirmed by the Belgian royal prosecutor. He has announced that the airport blast was a suicide attack, confirming the preliminary death toll of 14, as well as dozens others wounded.
Blasts rocked the departure hall of Brussels’ Zaventem Airport and the city Metro stations, killing over 30 people, injuring dozens more. While the death toll keeps growing, authorities said the attacks are terror bombings and more undetonated homemade bombs are being discovered in security ops.
- Belgian bomb squad DOVO has performed a controlled explosion at the premises of the Vrije University in Brussels, after a suspicious object was found at the campus, the university tweeted. The unidentified object was blown as a precaution measure. All students and staff were evacuated.Brussels police have told Sputnik that Zaventem’s great hall was targeted in the blast, but they couldn’t confirm the number of the victims in the attack.“There was an explosion, but we cannot say more,” a police spokesperson said.A suicide bomber was responsible for one of the blasts, Belgian broadcaster VRT said. Three suicide belts packed with explosives have been found at the Brussels airport by police, local TV reported.Reports also suggest that first there was a shot fired in the departure hall, then something was called out in Arabic, and only afterward, two explosions rocked the facility.Reports suggest that one of the explosions took place near the American Airlines check-in desk. A government source confirmed to VRT broadcaster that it was an attack, while Anke Fransen, spokeswoman for Brussels Airport, said there were multiple injuries. “We can confirm that there have been two explosions in the departure hall. We called the emergency services on the ground – they [are] now provid[ing] first aid to the injured.”
 At least 26 people have been killed and more than 80 others seriously injured in terrorist attacks at Brussels international airport and a city metro station. Belgium's Prime Minister says two blasts hit Zaventem airport at about 07:00 GMT, and another struck Maelbeek metro station an hour later. The government has not confirmed casualty numbers. Brussels transport officials say 15 died at Maelbeek and media report 11 dead at the airport. Belgium has now raised its terror threat to its highest level. The attacks come four days after Salah Abdeslam, the main fugitive in the Paris attacks, was seized in Brussels. The airport and whole transport system in Brussels are closed. Prime Minister Charles Michel called the latest attacks "blind, violent and cowardly", adding this is a day of tragedy "a black day"and call on everyone to show calmness and solidarity. |
No comments:
Post a Comment