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| A quiet morning in Brussels ends in gruesome terrorist attacks | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BRUSSELS – In this city often called “the capital of Europe,” the main departure hall at Brussels International Airport was a typical hive of activity Tuesday morning. A babble of languages filled the hall, as passengers milled at check-in counters. There was a line for steaming java at Starbucks. | BRUSSELS – In this city often called “the capital of Europe,” the main departure hall at Brussels International Airport was a typical hive of activity Tuesday morning. A babble of languages filled the hall, as passengers milled at check-in counters. There was a line for steaming java at Starbucks. |
| Didier Marchal, 42, a former Belgian commando happy to be home after attending a wedding in Canada, had just gone through customs shortly after 8 a.m. Then, he heard it. | Didier Marchal, 42, a former Belgian commando happy to be home after attending a wedding in Canada, had just gone through customs shortly after 8 a.m. Then, he heard it. |
| “The sound was devastating,” he recalled. | “The sound was devastating,” he recalled. |
| “Have you ever heard dynamite go off?” he said of the first of two explosions at the airport – which Belgian authorities described as the work of suicide bombers. A third suspect whose bomb apparently failed to explode was still at large. “This was concussive. You felt air moving towards you. It went everywhere. It took out the ceiling.” | “Have you ever heard dynamite go off?” he said of the first of two explosions at the airport – which Belgian authorities described as the work of suicide bombers. A third suspect whose bomb apparently failed to explode was still at large. “This was concussive. You felt air moving towards you. It went everywhere. It took out the ceiling.” |
| The moments after, he said, were reminiscent of his stints in war zones, and everything around him seemed to be occurring in slow motion. “People who died weren’t whole anymore,” he said. “They were in pieces. The concussions of the blast just tore them to shreds.” | The moments after, he said, were reminiscent of his stints in war zones, and everything around him seemed to be occurring in slow motion. “People who died weren’t whole anymore,” he said. “They were in pieces. The concussions of the blast just tore them to shreds.” |
| [Islamic State claims responsibility for Brussels attacks] | [Islamic State claims responsibility for Brussels attacks] |
| Panicked passengers, some of them wounded, rushed away from the blast, only to stop in their tracks as the second, larger bomb went off. In the grizzly scene that unfolded, captured by social media, a wounded man in bloodied jeans lay in agony on the airport floor. Nails and other projectiles apparently packed into the bomb ripped through clothing, leaving another bleeding man on the ground in a shredded suit. A single baby stroller stood in a cloud of dust. Panels fell from the ceiling. Smoke poured through shattered, twisted window frames. | Panicked passengers, some of them wounded, rushed away from the blast, only to stop in their tracks as the second, larger bomb went off. In the grizzly scene that unfolded, captured by social media, a wounded man in bloodied jeans lay in agony on the airport floor. Nails and other projectiles apparently packed into the bomb ripped through clothing, leaving another bleeding man on the ground in a shredded suit. A single baby stroller stood in a cloud of dust. Panels fell from the ceiling. Smoke poured through shattered, twisted window frames. |
| Authorities said at least 11 people were killed. | Authorities said at least 11 people were killed. |
| “I saw people at the Starbucks with blood on their faces and I got really scared,” said Tatyana Beloy, a 31-year-old Belgian actress who was leaving on vacation. “I immediately ran outside, I had no clue what was happening.” | “I saw people at the Starbucks with blood on their faces and I got really scared,” said Tatyana Beloy, a 31-year-old Belgian actress who was leaving on vacation. “I immediately ran outside, I had no clue what was happening.” |
| This is what was happening: For the second time in four-and-a-half months, Europe was facing a multipronged terror attack that would paralyze one of its major cities. So soon after a cell loyal to the Islamic State had killed 130 people in Paris, the militant group claimed to unleash its operatives in a wave of terror targeting the very heart of the European Union. | This is what was happening: For the second time in four-and-a-half months, Europe was facing a multipronged terror attack that would paralyze one of its major cities. So soon after a cell loyal to the Islamic State had killed 130 people in Paris, the militant group claimed to unleash its operatives in a wave of terror targeting the very heart of the European Union. |
| Brussels. The “Washington of Europe.” The administrative capital and home to thousands of office workers and officials charged with running the continent’s bureaucracy. | Brussels. The “Washington of Europe.” The administrative capital and home to thousands of office workers and officials charged with running the continent’s bureaucracy. |
| About 75 minutes after the airport attack, the assailants struck again. | About 75 minutes after the airport attack, the assailants struck again. |
| Rushing to work, Charlotte Vandriesen, a 26-year-old researcher for Belgian news outlet VXX, had just made it on board her metro train at the Maeleek Station before the doors closed. The train moved forward for a few minutes, she said, before she heard a large explosion and saw a cloud of dust through the windows. | Rushing to work, Charlotte Vandriesen, a 26-year-old researcher for Belgian news outlet VXX, had just made it on board her metro train at the Maeleek Station before the doors closed. The train moved forward for a few minutes, she said, before she heard a large explosion and saw a cloud of dust through the windows. |
| “The car stopped, we were all afraid,” she said. “For a couple of minutes it was like that, people screamed….So many people were crying. We all knew immediately what was going on. We had heard the news that an hour earlier there was the attack at the airport. We knew it was linked to this.” | “The car stopped, we were all afraid,” she said. “For a couple of minutes it was like that, people screamed….So many people were crying. We all knew immediately what was going on. We had heard the news that an hour earlier there was the attack at the airport. We knew it was linked to this.” |
| Up ahead, only one stop away from the one used by the employees at the European Union and European Commission headquarters, an explosion had gone off on board the train that was then pulling into the station. The blast killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 80 otheres . | Up ahead, only one stop away from the one used by the employees at the European Union and European Commission headquarters, an explosion had gone off on board the train that was then pulling into the station. The blast killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 80 otheres . |
| Orry Van De Wauwer, who works for Belgium’s centrist CD&V party, was working inside a building just across the street. He heard the blast and felt the building shake before he saw dozens of injured people pour out of the station. | Orry Van De Wauwer, who works for Belgium’s centrist CD&V party, was working inside a building just across the street. He heard the blast and felt the building shake before he saw dozens of injured people pour out of the station. |
| [NATO headquarters, just miles from Brussels attacks, boosts alert status] | [NATO headquarters, just miles from Brussels attacks, boosts alert status] |
| On a day when many Belgians were called on to be impromptu emergency responders, he jumped into coordination mode. Van De Wauwer and others helped the wounded into their office building, and went desk to desk among employees asking for those who knew first aid. The political worker collected water bottles and blankets, and tended to a wounded mother with a 5-year-old child. “She kept telling him to keep his eyes closed, not to look around,” Van De Wauwer said. “She did not want him to see what was happening around him.” | On a day when many Belgians were called on to be impromptu emergency responders, he jumped into coordination mode. Van De Wauwer and others helped the wounded into their office building, and went desk to desk among employees asking for those who knew first aid. The political worker collected water bottles and blankets, and tended to a wounded mother with a 5-year-old child. “She kept telling him to keep his eyes closed, not to look around,” Van De Wauwer said. “She did not want him to see what was happening around him.” |
| Back at the airport, planes that landed just after the explosions were forced to sit on the tarmac for hours. Passengers who had already disembarked found themselves trapped for hours, with no explanation from officials or airline representatives, they later said. | Back at the airport, planes that landed just after the explosions were forced to sit on the tarmac for hours. Passengers who had already disembarked found themselves trapped for hours, with no explanation from officials or airline representatives, they later said. |
| By Tuesday afternoon, many travelers from the airport were sent to a sports facility in the town of Zaventem, adjacent to the airport. At the sports hall on Tuesday afternoon, Marchel, the former commando, recalled the mayhem of the morning. The military and police forces on hand, he said, hurried passengers out of the terminal and told them to wait. | By Tuesday afternoon, many travelers from the airport were sent to a sports facility in the town of Zaventem, adjacent to the airport. At the sports hall on Tuesday afternoon, Marchel, the former commando, recalled the mayhem of the morning. The military and police forces on hand, he said, hurried passengers out of the terminal and told them to wait. |
| “They were actually yelling at us,” he said, adding: “The people who panicked the most were the police and the military. They were running around like chickens with their heads cut off for 15 minutes. You’d think they’d have planned for something like this, and if not, have a plan put in place.” | “They were actually yelling at us,” he said, adding: “The people who panicked the most were the police and the military. They were running around like chickens with their heads cut off for 15 minutes. You’d think they’d have planned for something like this, and if not, have a plan put in place.” |
| By dusk on Tuesday, passengers had finally started to trickle out of the hall, mostly staffed by volunteers from the local community, who brought bread, Easter chocolate, and fresh coffee. | By dusk on Tuesday, passengers had finally started to trickle out of the hall, mostly staffed by volunteers from the local community, who brought bread, Easter chocolate, and fresh coffee. |
| Miriam, a 63-year-old woman who declined to give her last name, emerged with her husband. They had both in the terminal at the time of the explosions. Her husband was heading to Bermuda, and she was seeing him off. She had waited after he passed security to make sure he took off safely, and was catching up on newspaper reading when the bombs went off. | Miriam, a 63-year-old woman who declined to give her last name, emerged with her husband. They had both in the terminal at the time of the explosions. Her husband was heading to Bermuda, and she was seeing him off. She had waited after he passed security to make sure he took off safely, and was catching up on newspaper reading when the bombs went off. |
| “It was one of those hours where you realize your life can really take a turn,” she said. “We feel so lucky,” she said, eyes welling with tears. | “It was one of those hours where you realize your life can really take a turn,” she said. “We feel so lucky,” she said, eyes welling with tears. |
| “Tomorrow is my birthday.” | “Tomorrow is my birthday.” |
| Annabell Van den Berghe contributed to this report. | Annabell Van den Berghe contributed to this report. |
| Read more | Read more |
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| Five stories you should read to understand the Brussels attacks | Five stories you should read to understand the Brussels attacks |