BRUSSELS, Mar 22 — (BREAKING NEWS) A series of explosions rocked Belgium’s airport of Zaventem, just outside Brussels, on Tuesday morning, leaving five dead and many more injured, according to local media.
Francophone broadcaster RTBF as well as Flemish broadcaster VRT also reported another explosion at the metro station of Maelbeek, close to the European institutions in central Brussels. It was unclear how many people were injured in that attack. The Brussels public transport authority said all metro stations had been closed. A hearing at the EU parliament has been suspended.
A spokesperson for the fire services told CNBC four explosions had occurred at the airport as well as explosions at different metro stations, but could not provide further detail yet.
VRT said the emergency services were at the airport. It cited emergency services as saying five people had died. The explosions occurred in the main departure hall, according to the broadcaster. Trains to the airport have been suspended, VRT said, and the airport is being evacuated.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel tweeted that the government was focusing its efforts on providing assistance to those wounded in the attack. The terror alert has been raised to the maximum level of 4 for the whole country.
Photos posted on Twitter show significant damage to the airport. VRT said at least one of the explosions happened near the check-in desks for American Airlines. American Airlines said all of its employees and contractors were accounted for with no reported injuries, Reuters reported.
Belgian news agency Belga, cited by Reuters, said shots were fired and Arabic was shouted before the two explosions.
The blasts come four days after the capture of Salah Abdeslam, a suspect in last year’s Paris attacks.
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