S
Sini
Guest
Original poster
I am shocked by what is happening (11:50 W. Europe). For me this hits close to home as well, being Belgian. Quick update on the explosions in Brussels (I'm following the events as best as I can, as reported by our own news services):
Two or three explosions at Brussels Airport (Zaventem) and the metro station of Maalbeek. Things are still unclear and there might have been a third or even fourth explosion. Some sources also claim they heard gunshots and shouting in Arabic at the airport attacks. Most of the air traffic has been rerouted to Frankfurt.
Police, military and emergency services are on the scene in large numbers. Public transport has been shut down, save for those buses engaged in ferrying out evacuees. People are being evacuated from the sites. Brussels and Belgium as a whole are on a lockdown.
Concerning victim numbers: these vary between 10 and more than 30, fatalities unfortunately. The most recent count talks about 11 dead at Brussels Airport and at least 10 in the metrostation. There are at least 35 wounded. Not a lot is known so far, as one can imagine.
For those that want to know more, here is an English article from the Guardian.
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Update A (12:12): 11 deaths at Airport and at least 81 injured. 15 deaths at Maalbeek. Security Council has been convened, PM is addressing the country. ISIS/Daesh has claimed the attacks.
Update B (12:54): Confirmed terrorist attack. Several shady packages have been made to explode in a controlled manner by explosive specialist units of the military. News counsels to be careful about attributing it to ISIS however, as that claim was launched by a Kurdish News Network. Evacuation still in progress. Schools, public buildings and places of interest (power plants, factories) are guarded.
Update C (13:25): Total of killed victims rests at 26 for now. Too early for a final count, obviously. Several house searches are being conducted throughout the city. Evacution of Brussels Airport/Zaventem is nearing its end. Public transport is slowly being shut down across the other large cities (between Brussels and Antwerp, Charleroi). A 'concrete threat' has been reported, targetting the University of Brussels, and the Zuidertoren (Fr. Tour du Midi, largest building in Belgium). Alarm level remains at highest setting.
Update D (14:23): Unconfirmed count of 34, 26 confirmed. 106 wounded, of which 17 severely. Talk of at least three terrorists who caused the disaster at Bxl Airport. One bombing-belt found unexploded, specialists on the scene to deal with it. AK-47s were used during the attack. Hearses have started to roll up. Expressions of solidarity keep rolling in.
Update E (14:34): Businesses are closed in Brussels. Police is closing down several offices in Antwerp to free up manpower. Regional cities and towns are also under high surveillance. Nation is on lockdown. Armed patrols sent out to areas with large crowds of people. Power plants run on minimal staff.
Update F (14:52): Bombs used at Brussels Airport contained nails to cause maximum injury to victims. Concrete threats from before (update C) have been eliminated by controlled initiated explosions.
Update G (15:06): BBC News is offering live updates with up-to-date information (this not being so before is why I wrote the above).
Update H (18:34): This will be my last update. Things are winding down. Sadly the death toll hovers around 30, whereas there are over 300 injured according to the national news. ISIS has officially claimed these atrocities. Trains are up again, but over a 1,000 people are waiting for transportation home. Hotels in Brussels are offering room for free and people are ferrying out those caught in the ordeal. APBs have been sent out based on surveillance footage. There will be no lockdown as there was last year in the capital. PM and administration have been visiting the sites of carnage.
I thank you all for expressing your support. Hopefully something good will come of this, and let's not get caught up in extremism or bigotry.
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