People react as they walk away from Brussels airport after explosions rocked the facility. (AP PHOTOS)
Brussels, Belgium — Belgian firefighters said at least 21 people had died after “enormous” blasts hit Brussels airport and the city’s metro system yesterday.
Pierre Meys, spokesman for the Brussels fire brigade, told AFP that 11 people died in twin blasts at Brussels airport.
There were also “around 10 killed at the Maalbeek metro station where there was an enormous explosion,” he said.
Two explosions targeted the main hall of Zaventem Airport at around 8 a.m., with a third hitting the Maalbeek metro station, near the European Union’s main buildings, just as commuters were making their way to work in rush hour.
The blasts come days after the dramatic arrest in Brussels on Friday of Salah Abdeslam, the prime suspect in the Paris terror attacks that killed 130 people in November, after four months on the run.
There were chaotic scenes at the airport as passengers fled in panic, with a thick plume of smoke rising from the main terminal building.
The blasts smashed the windows of the departure hall and sent ceiling tiles shattering to the floor.
Witnesses told Belga news agency there had been shots and shouts in Arabic at the airport before the blasts hit at the airport on the northwest outskirts of Brussels.
“There have been two explosions at the airport. Building is being evacuated. Don’t come to the airport area,” the airport said on Twitter, as police cars and rescue vehicles rushed to the scene.
Airport operation suspended
“All airport operations have been suspended until further notice,” it said.
Interior Minister Jan Jambon announced that Belgium’s terror threat had been raised from three to a maximum of four.
Airports in neighboring France, Germany and the Netherlands as well as Britain swiftly boosted security in response.
The blasts triggered a transport shutdown in Brussels, with all flights halted in and out of the airport and the city’s metro, tram and bus services suspended.
European Union staff in Brussels, where the 28-nation bloc has its headquarters, were told to stay indoors or at home.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven branded the blasts an “attack against democratic Europe,” while British premier David Cameron tweeted: “I am shocked and concerned by the events in Brussels. We will do everything we can to help.”
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