At least 28 people have been killed and dozens injured in Brussels after a series of terror attacks struck the city’s airport and a metro station near the EU headquarters.
Witnesses described apocalyptic scenes with blood and ‘dismembered bodies everywhere’ after two blasts rocked the American Airlines check-in desk at Brussels Airport at 8am (7am GMT) in a suspected suicide bombing. At least 13 people have died and 35 were injured.
Then 79 minutes later at 9.19am, at least 15 people were killed and scores seriously injured when a blast hit a Metro station just 400 metres from the EU headquarters in the city centre.
At the airport, shouts in Arabic were heard before the explosions which sent shockwaves through the terminal building, shattering windows, knocking roof tiles off the ceiling and sending terrified passengers running for their lives.
Samir Derrouich, who works at a restaurant in the airport, told MailOnline: ‘The two explosions were almost simultaneous.
‘They were both at a check-in desk. One was close to the Starbucks. It was awful. There was just blood. It was like the apocalypse.’
The explosions have left countries worldwide reeling, with security placed on high alert, flights cancelled, Eurostar services suspended and France’s border with Belgium shut down. Troops have also been deployed at the airport and other key locations across Brussels.
The bombings come just a day after the Belgium Interior Minister warned of possible revenge attacks after the arrest of Paris massacre suspect Salah Abdeslam in the city on Friday.
FIRST ATTACK: At least 13 people have died and dozens injured after two explosions rocked Brussels Airport in a terror attack.
SECOND ATTACK: The image above is being used by the Belgian media who claim this is the damage caused by the bomb at the Maelbeek Metro station in central Brussels 79 minutes after the first attack. It has not been verified but is being widely circulated on social media.
Photographs from inside the arrivals hall showed the floor covered in fallen tiles and dust as bloodied people hobbled out of the airport. Others injured were photographed lying on the floor.
Firefighters who entered the terminal to search for survivors are said to have found a third unexploded device, while armed police in protective clothing combed the building for more wounded travellers and suspicious bags.
Dries Valaert, 30, was waiting to get his boarding pass from a check in desk when the blast struck.
He told MailOnline: ‘There was a first blast and then ten seconds later a second explosion. It was a big, big blast, the ceiling went down. It was just 30 metres from where I was.
‘I saw people down on the ground and I just went running. I jumped over the security fences towards the departure gates as I thought it would be safer.
‘My first intuition was to get out in case their were attackers with guns. I saw a woman around 18 years old with a hole in her hand with blood pouring out and a man with an injured ankle and two people down. There was lots of panic. People were running all over the place.’
Mr Valaert, who was flying to a business meeting in Berlin, said he believed the bombs were hidden in suitcases that had just been checked in.
He said: ‘The explosions were just behind the service desks, they were blown towards us. To me it is the most realistic possibility. I don’t think it was someone with a suicide vest.’