(TRUNEWS) At around 8 am local time: AP reported that the check-in desks of American Airlines and British Airways at Brussels Zaventem airport were struck by two explosions, one deriving from a suicide bomb, killing at least 14 people.
Belga news agency reported that witnesses said they first heard shots in the departure hall before someone shouted in Arabic and then two explosions occurred.
8:20 am: Rail transport to airport stopped and road closures brought in.
8:40 am: Airport confirms explosions and urges people to stay away from the area.
Shortly before 9 am: Belgium Federal police said at least one person was dead and several others wounded. Brussels Zaventem airport was closed at this time and a crisis cell meeting was held at the interior ministry.
9:15 am: Belgium moved to its highest level of terror alert: essentially declaring martial law
At around 9:10 am: Maelbeek metro station, walking distance from the European Commission Headquarters, was hit by an explosion, reportedly killing at least 20 people.
9.27am: Brussels Metro system closed.
Shortly before 10 am: The European Commission told staff to stay home or in their offices.
10am: Entire public transport system including buses, trams and trains shut down. Belgian Crisis Centre tweets: “Stay where you are.”
Shortly after 10 am: The federal prosecutor’s office issues a casualty toll of at least 13 dead and 35 wounded at the airport.
Shortly before 10:30 am: The crisis center asks inhabitants to stay in place. Security is reportedly reinforced in airports, train stations and public transport systems in Paris, while airports in Frankfurt, London, Moscow and the Netherlands bolstered their measures also. Additionally, the border between Belgium and the Netherlands was reinforced.
-RT validates that the train and airport systems have been halted, but exposed that the highways from the UK to Brussels are still open for transit by car.
10:35 am: Germany’s justice minister Heiko Maas said “today is a black day for Europe” following with the tweet “the horrible events in Brussels affect us all,” and later saying “we are steadfastly at the Belgians’ side.”
10:40 am: Gatwick airport said that “as a result of the terrible incidents in Brussels we have increased our security presence and patrols around the airport.” Heathrow said it was working with police to provide a “high-visibility” presence on light of the attacks.
10:45 am: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Belgium has “again been hit by cowardly and murderous attacks. Our hearts go out to the victims and next of kin. The Netherlands stands ready to help and support our southern neighbors in any possible way.”
Rutte also said that “extra alertness is necessary, also in our country. We will take all necessary precautionary measures”, before calling a meeting Tuesday of his government’s Ministerial Crisis Committee to discuss the attacks.
The Dutch anti-terror authority said the country’s threat level was unchanged at “substantial.” It said extra security measures would be in place at the country’s airports and borders.
Shortly before 11 am: Fire services said at least 21 people had died, including 11 at the airport. High-speed Thalys trains between Belgium, France and the Netherlands stop running.
11:15 am: European Council President Donald Tusk condemns the “terrorist attacks”.
11:25 am: France’s top security official Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the country is reinforcing security at airports, train stations and metros after Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels. Cazeneuve said France immediately increased its vigilance after the attacks. France has been on highest alert since the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that left 130 dead.
Shortly before 11:30 am: police and soldiers reinforced security around Belgium’s nuclear power plants.
11:43 am: Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel condemns the “blind, violent and cowardly” attacks.
11:46 am: Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says the Eiffel Tower will be lit in Belgium’s national colors and calls for a silent vigil in the evening in Paris.
11:50 am: Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel says “what we feared has happened” and says authorities are worried there will be more attacks. Michel said “there are many dead, many injured” and stated that border controls have been reinforced. “We realize we face a tragic moment,” he said. “We have to be calm and show solidarity.”
11:55 am: Belgian federal prosecutor confirms that three explosions – two at airport and one at Maelbeek station – were terrorist attacks. Leeuw said one airport blast was “probably caused by a suicide bomber”.
12 pm: French President Francois Hollande said “The whole of Europe has been hit.”
12:05 pm: European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, stopped a news conference in Jordan early, after saying that “today is a difficult day,” in reference to the Brussels attacks.
In her opening remarks at the press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, she had talked about the importance of her visit to Jordan, praising the kingdom’s stance against militant Islam.
12:15 pm: Brussels transport operator STIB said the metro blast killed at least 15 people and wounded at least 55, including 30 seriously. Eurostar train service between London and Brussels was suspended.
12:20 pm: Facebook has activated its “safety check” system to help people check on friends and loved ones in the aftermath of the attacks in Brussels.
12:30 pm: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the West’s politics of “double standards” have led to terrorist attacks and that frozen diplomatic relations between NATO and Russia have slowed the fight with terrorism.
Prominent Russian lawmaker Alexei Pushkov said “it’s time for Europe to understand where the genuine threat is coming from and join efforts with Russia.”
12:35 pm: Peter Altmaier, the German Minister in the Chancellor’s Office, tweeted “Terrorists will never win” and “Our European values much stronger than hate, violence, terror!”
12:45 pm: Prime Minister Manuel Valls condemned the Brussels attacks, saying after a crisis meeting “we are at war. We have been subjected for the last few months in Europe to acts of war.”
President Francois Hollande said “terrorists struck Brussels but it was Europe that was targeted – and all the world that is concerned,” adding the warning that “this war will be long” so sang froid and lucidity are needed.”
Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris said it will light the Eiffel Tower in the colors of the Belgian flag, described the move in a tweet as a measure of “solidarity with Brussels.”
13:00 pm: EU Council President Donald Tusk said Tuesday “these attacks mark another low by the terrorists in the service of hatred and violence.” He added that the EU council “will fulfill its role to help Brussels, Belgium and Europe as a whole counter the terror threat which we are all facing.”
13:10 pm: More than 200 flights to Brussels had been diverted or canceled according to the flight tracking service Flightradar24.
13:15 pm: The U.S. Embassy in Brussels recommended that Americans in Belgium stay where they are and avoid public transportation.
It urged U.S. citizens to monitor media reports, follow instructions from the authorities, and “take the appropriate steps to bolster your personal security.”
13:25: Belgian Health Minister Maggie de Block said 11 people are dead and 81 had been injured in twin explosions at the Brussels Zaventem airport. A Brussels subway spokesman said 15 people had been killed and 55 were injured in the explosion at the Maelbeek train station.
13:30 pm: British Prime Minister David Cameron said ”We will never let these terrorists win.”
13.35 pm: Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said the investigation is ongoing and authorities “fear that people are still at large.”
14:36 pm: Local mayor Yvan Mayeur said “there are around 20 dead with another 106 wounded, 17 of them gravely” at the metro station.
14:57 pm: A fire service spokesman said the airport attack killed 14 people and left more than 90 wounded, and warns the toll could change.
After 15:00 pm: The number of known casualties stands at around 35 dead and more than 200 wounded.
TRENDING HASHTAGS
#BrusselsOnFire – Breitbart reported ISIS supporters were tweeting posts celebrating the attacks in Brussels, attaching this hashtag as a badge of honor.
#StopIslam – Directly after news of the attacks reached most of Europe, this hashtag caught a large following among Europeans sick and tired of their governments importing thousands of migrants into the EU.
Potential suspects named by Belgium officials
EYE WITNESSES
Zach Mouzoun, who arrived on a flight from Geneva about 10 minutes before the first blast, told France’s BFM television that the second explosion at Zaventem airport brought down ceilings and ruptured pipes, mixing water with blood from victims. “It was atrocious,” he said. “There was blood everywhere, injured people, bags everywhere. We were walking in the debris. It looked like a war zone.”
Alexandre Brans who was wiping blood from his face told AP that: “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.”
Anthony Deloos, an employee of services company Swissport, told AP that the first explosion took place near a counter where customers pay for overweight baggage. He and colleague said the second blast was near the Starbucks. “Twenty meters (yards) from us we heard a big explosion,” and shredded paper was flying through the air, Deloos said. He first thought a billboard had fallen down, but a colleague told him to run. “I jumped into a luggage chute to be safe,” he said.
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