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| Witnesses at Zaventem airport recall horrific scenes after bombings | Witnesses at Zaventem airport recall horrific scenes after bombings |
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| The morning of Tuesday 22 March began like any other at Brussels’s international airport. | The morning of Tuesday 22 March began like any other at Brussels’s international airport. |
| People going on holidays or business trips checked in their bags, queued up for coffee and milled around the lounges waiting for their flight to be called. But the peaceful normality of a busy weekday morning was shattered at 8am when two explosions ripped through the departure halls. | People going on holidays or business trips checked in their bags, queued up for coffee and milled around the lounges waiting for their flight to be called. But the peaceful normality of a busy weekday morning was shattered at 8am when two explosions ripped through the departure halls. |
| The first explosion, near the check-in desks, was followed by another 15 or 20 seconds later. | The first explosion, near the check-in desks, was followed by another 15 or 20 seconds later. |
| Passengers were confronted with a scenes reminiscent of a warzone. Windows blown out, ceilings collapsed, smoke filling the terminal building. | Passengers were confronted with a scenes reminiscent of a warzone. Windows blown out, ceilings collapsed, smoke filling the terminal building. |
| “There was indescribable chaos, and there were victims everywhere,” Alphonse Youla, a baggage handler, told Belgian TV. He had heard someone shouting in Arabic around the time of the explosion, although he didn’t understand what was said. | “There was indescribable chaos, and there were victims everywhere,” Alphonse Youla, a baggage handler, told Belgian TV. He had heard someone shouting in Arabic around the time of the explosion, although he didn’t understand what was said. |
| In the nearby Autogrill restaurant, staff and diners were thrown to the floor as the explosions rocked the building, staff member Valerie recounted. “It was terrible,” she said. “I helped those injured persons who I could, with a colleague. We helped to carry some people outside, where dozens of wounded people were already.” | In the nearby Autogrill restaurant, staff and diners were thrown to the floor as the explosions rocked the building, staff member Valerie recounted. “It was terrible,” she said. “I helped those injured persons who I could, with a colleague. We helped to carry some people outside, where dozens of wounded people were already.” |
| Amateur video footage taken shortly after the blast showed a devastated scene: people running through smoke-filled hallways and shouting for help. Amid the clouds of smoke a woman sat on the floor by a wall hugging a little boy tightly. | Amateur video footage taken shortly after the blast showed a devastated scene: people running through smoke-filled hallways and shouting for help. Amid the clouds of smoke a woman sat on the floor by a wall hugging a little boy tightly. |
| Passengers on the tarmac didn’t know what was happening at first. “As we were getting on the plane we saw a fire,” said Sanne Depre, who was flying to Lisbon with her partner. “I thought it was coming from a kitchen ... then I got texts from friends asking if I was OK.” | Passengers on the tarmac didn’t know what was happening at first. “As we were getting on the plane we saw a fire,” said Sanne Depre, who was flying to Lisbon with her partner. “I thought it was coming from a kitchen ... then I got texts from friends asking if I was OK.” |
| “An hour before we were sitting [in the departure hall]. It was surreal,” she said. “So many people died and we could have been one of them.” | “An hour before we were sitting [in the departure hall]. It was surreal,” she said. “So many people died and we could have been one of them.” |
| It was a morning when many felt that had had a narrow escape. Marc Noel, 63, was in a newsagents when the explosion happened 50 yards away. He thinks his decision to buy magazines could have saved his life. “I don’t want to think about it, but I would probably have been in that place when the bomb went off,” he told AP. | It was a morning when many felt that had had a narrow escape. Marc Noel, 63, was in a newsagents when the explosion happened 50 yards away. He thinks his decision to buy magazines could have saved his life. “I don’t want to think about it, but I would probably have been in that place when the bomb went off,” he told AP. |
| Little more than one hour later, as authorities began to count the cost in human lives, another bomb went off. This time the explosion was at Maelbeek metro station, just 300 metres from the heart of the EU district, an apparently co-ordinated attack that would bring the deadly toll to at least 34 dead and more than 180 injured. Passengers caught up in the explosion recounted how they walked along underground lines amid burning debris to safety. | Little more than one hour later, as authorities began to count the cost in human lives, another bomb went off. This time the explosion was at Maelbeek metro station, just 300 metres from the heart of the EU district, an apparently co-ordinated attack that would bring the deadly toll to at least 34 dead and more than 180 injured. Passengers caught up in the explosion recounted how they walked along underground lines amid burning debris to safety. |
| When the bomb went off, “there was little doubt about what [had] happened,” said Thomas Bignal, a Londoner who has lived in Brussels for five years. | When the bomb went off, “there was little doubt about what [had] happened,” said Thomas Bignal, a Londoner who has lived in Brussels for five years. |
| “People stayed reasonably calm but there were a few very scared people, calling family and friends. After a minute or two, there was lots of smoke and a plasticy smell and it became increasingly warm and difficult to breathe.” | “People stayed reasonably calm but there were a few very scared people, calling family and friends. After a minute or two, there was lots of smoke and a plasticy smell and it became increasingly warm and difficult to breathe.” |
| Emergency services were confronted by harrowing scenes as they arrived at the wrecked carriages. “It is war, it is indescribable,” said Pierre Meys, spokesman for the Brussels fire department. “Everything is destroyed, in pieces.” | Emergency services were confronted by harrowing scenes as they arrived at the wrecked carriages. “It is war, it is indescribable,” said Pierre Meys, spokesman for the Brussels fire department. “Everything is destroyed, in pieces.” |
| He compared the injuries the victims suffered to those of wartime. “I have been in this job for 40 years and this is the most serious I have seen.” | He compared the injuries the victims suffered to those of wartime. “I have been in this job for 40 years and this is the most serious I have seen.” |
| Rudolphe Devilez, who moves furniture for the EU institutions, was working in a garage next to the metro station when he heard a loud bang. | Rudolphe Devilez, who moves furniture for the EU institutions, was working in a garage next to the metro station when he heard a loud bang. |
| Heading to one of Maelbeek’s two entrances, he saw around 30 injured people. “Some were seriously hurt, some were bleeding from their faces and hands and their hair was singed. Many were in shock.” He helped some of the lightly injured onto city buses that were rushed into service for the walking wounded. | Heading to one of Maelbeek’s two entrances, he saw around 30 injured people. “Some were seriously hurt, some were bleeding from their faces and hands and their hair was singed. Many were in shock.” He helped some of the lightly injured onto city buses that were rushed into service for the walking wounded. |
| Above ground, the city went into lockdown. The Brussels metro and the city’s three main railway stations were closed. Mobile phone networks, overwhelmed by demand, were down for hours, with authorities advising people to use email or text messages. | Above ground, the city went into lockdown. The Brussels metro and the city’s three main railway stations were closed. Mobile phone networks, overwhelmed by demand, were down for hours, with authorities advising people to use email or text messages. |
| Large parts of the EU quarter were cordoned off by police tape. The rue de la Loi, one of the main arteries connecting the city centre to the EU district – normally a four-lane highway groaning with rush hour traffic – was barred to all but police vans, as were the city’s many underground road tunnels. | Large parts of the EU quarter were cordoned off by police tape. The rue de la Loi, one of the main arteries connecting the city centre to the EU district – normally a four-lane highway groaning with rush hour traffic – was barred to all but police vans, as were the city’s many underground road tunnels. |
| The blare of police sirens and whirr of helicopters became the soundtrack of the morning, as small groups of residents and banks of TV cameras clustered around police cordons. The Berlaymont, the headquarters of the European commission, was on high alert, although the area was not sealed off until around three hours after the metro attack. By noon the EU flags outside the building had been lowered to half mast. | The blare of police sirens and whirr of helicopters became the soundtrack of the morning, as small groups of residents and banks of TV cameras clustered around police cordons. The Berlaymont, the headquarters of the European commission, was on high alert, although the area was not sealed off until around three hours after the metro attack. By noon the EU flags outside the building had been lowered to half mast. |
| People working in the European district were told not to leave their offices. Parents were advised to leave their children in school and to collect them at the end of the school day. But in the immediate aftermath of the attack, this news had not filtered through, with panic and frustration as people were unable to get through the cordon. “I need to find my son,” said one mother at Maelbeek, who declined to give her name. “But I can’t get through and nobody is giving us any information.” | People working in the European district were told not to leave their offices. Parents were advised to leave their children in school and to collect them at the end of the school day. But in the immediate aftermath of the attack, this news had not filtered through, with panic and frustration as people were unable to get through the cordon. “I need to find my son,” said one mother at Maelbeek, who declined to give her name. “But I can’t get through and nobody is giving us any information.” |
| Lukasz Wrona from Poland, who moved to Brussels just eight months ago, was trying to return home to his flat next to Maelbeek metro. “My wife is at home and she is in a panic. She asked me to come home, but not I can’t get there.” A 15-year-old boy waited at the cordon for news of his two friends, who he thought were in ambulances. They had been on the metro going to school when the explosion happened. | Lukasz Wrona from Poland, who moved to Brussels just eight months ago, was trying to return home to his flat next to Maelbeek metro. “My wife is at home and she is in a panic. She asked me to come home, but not I can’t get there.” A 15-year-old boy waited at the cordon for news of his two friends, who he thought were in ambulances. They had been on the metro going to school when the explosion happened. |
| Hospitals across the city swung emergency plans into action. Renaud Mazy, the managing director of St Luc hospital in Woluwe, said an emergency operation planned since the lockdown last November had gone into operation. The atmosphere was tense. Patients and visitors were being subjected to body and bag searches at the two entrances into the hospital. | Hospitals across the city swung emergency plans into action. Renaud Mazy, the managing director of St Luc hospital in Woluwe, said an emergency operation planned since the lockdown last November had gone into operation. The atmosphere was tense. Patients and visitors were being subjected to body and bag searches at the two entrances into the hospital. |
| Frontline ambulance workers at the scene of the blasts had experienced a “nightmare” and were being provided with psychological support, Mazy said. “I think it is the worst we have experienced over the last 15 years”. | Frontline ambulance workers at the scene of the blasts had experienced a “nightmare” and were being provided with psychological support, Mazy said. “I think it is the worst we have experienced over the last 15 years”. |
| He said city authorities were considering dispatching soldiers to protect the hospital, he said, as fears about further attacks continue. “We can organise ourselves and take the right decisions but due to fact that it’s a hospital with lots of people in it, it’s maybe better for the authorities to send specific protection here.” | He said city authorities were considering dispatching soldiers to protect the hospital, he said, as fears about further attacks continue. “We can organise ourselves and take the right decisions but due to fact that it’s a hospital with lots of people in it, it’s maybe better for the authorities to send specific protection here.” |
| People caught up in the blasts had mixed views about the response of the emergency services. | People caught up in the blasts had mixed views about the response of the emergency services. |
| One local taxi driver, Philippe accused emergency services of taking too long to arrive at the airport. He told news portal DH.be: “It is total carelessness: not a police officer, not a paramedic for several long minutes – even though we are in a level three [terror alert].” | One local taxi driver, Philippe accused emergency services of taking too long to arrive at the airport. He told news portal DH.be: “It is total carelessness: not a police officer, not a paramedic for several long minutes – even though we are in a level three [terror alert].” |
| But Paul Brasseur, a spokesman for the Belgian Senate, who was caught up in the Maelbeek attacks, said he was “genuinely surprised” by how quickly emergency services arrived on the scene. “I said to myself that finally, things don’t work so badly in this country.” | But Paul Brasseur, a spokesman for the Belgian Senate, who was caught up in the Maelbeek attacks, said he was “genuinely surprised” by how quickly emergency services arrived on the scene. “I said to myself that finally, things don’t work so badly in this country.” |
| As the Belgian government announced three days of national mourning, a steady stream of ambulances ferried the seriously wounded to St Luc from the blast scenes. | As the Belgian government announced three days of national mourning, a steady stream of ambulances ferried the seriously wounded to St Luc from the blast scenes. |
| Twenty people were being treated at St Luc hospital over night, suffering from what medical worker Etienne Vermieren described as “war injuries”. Two of them were in intensive care. | Twenty people were being treated at St Luc hospital over night, suffering from what medical worker Etienne Vermieren described as “war injuries”. Two of them were in intensive care. |
| Vermieren, a psychiatric support worker, who had spent the day treating patients and staff who had been helping victims, said survivors of the attacks were “feeling like they have had a near death experience”. | Vermieren, a psychiatric support worker, who had spent the day treating patients and staff who had been helping victims, said survivors of the attacks were “feeling like they have had a near death experience”. |
| “People saw parts of bodies. They saw dead people. You don’t think you will ever see that, so you feel ‘not normal’ afterwards – in another reality, in a nightmare.” | “People saw parts of bodies. They saw dead people. You don’t think you will ever see that, so you feel ‘not normal’ afterwards – in another reality, in a nightmare.” |