Brussels rocked by multiple explosions: Suicide bomber kills 13 at airport

A suicide bomber killed as many as 13 people after he detonated an explosive device inside a Brussels airport on Tuesday, Belgian public broadcaster RTBF reported.

No-one was killed in an explosion in a Brussels Metro carriage on Tuesday, public broadcaster VRT said.

Separate reports had said at least 10 were dead.

Thirty-five people were also seriously wounded and taken to the hospital, RTBF added.

The metro blast took place at Maelbeek metro station, close to European Union headquarters. All metro travel was suspended following the explosion.

A maximum terror alert has been issued to all of Belgium following the attack.

The blasts occurred four days after the arrest in Brussels of a suspected participant in November militant attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. Belgian police had been on alert for any reprisal action.

Social media showed pictures of smoke rising from the departure hall where all windows had been shattered by the blast. Passengers were seen running away down a slipway from the departure lounge.

Sky News television’s Alex Rossi, at the scene, said he heard two “very, very loud explosions.”

“I could feel the building move. There was also dust and smoke as well…I went towards where the explosion came from and there were people coming out looking very dazed and shocked.”

“The thinking here is that it is some kind of terrorist attack – that hasn’t been verified by any of the authorities here at the airport.”

Belgian media said rail traffic to the airport was suspended.

United Hatzalah volunteer EMT, Yaakov Yeret is currently present at the Brussels Airport. Yeret reported that “At the time of the explosion I was praying at the Synagogue in the airport. We felt the explosion. We exited the synagogue in order to see what was happening and we joined the stream of the multitude of people who were being ushered by the police to exit the terminal. For the moment we and being kept at the other end of the airport and we are awaiting further instructions from the security forces at the scene”.

The Foreign Ministry said that one Israeli was lightly injured in the attack, and are checking for more injuries.

Belgian media reported that shots were fired and words in Arabic shouted before the two explosions were heard in the departure hall of Brussels airport.

Shortly after the incident, Brussels Airport said through its Twitter account that it had cancelled flights and diverted all traffic to other travel hubs.

“Don’t come to the airport – airport is being evacuated. Avoid the airport area. Flights have been cancelled,” the airport said..

Brussels Airport serves over 23 million passengers a year.