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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Matthew Weaver and Haroon Siddique in London, Raya Jalabi in New York and Claire Phipps in Sydney

Brussels: Islamic State launches attacks on airport and station – as it happened

Brussels terror attacks: how events unfolded – video explainer

This live blog is now closing: follow our unfolding Brussels coverage on our new live blog:

Closing summary: what we know so far

  • The latest official death toll stands at 31. Up to 230 people are reported to have been injured.
  • Two blasts took place at Zaventem airport, to the north-east of the city centre, at around 8am local time; at least 11 people died here and up to 100 were injured.
  • A third bomb went off at Maelbeek metro station on the rue de la Loi, close to the European Union headquarters, around an hour later. Twenty people died in this attack and 130 were injured.
  • Adelma Tapia Ruiz was the first victim of the attacks to be named. The 37-year-old Peruvian woman was killed at the airport, where she was reported to be catching a flight with her Belgian husband, Christophe Delcambe, and their twin four-year-old daughters Maureen and Alondra, who survived.
  • A wounded Jet Airways crew member pictured in the immediate aftermath of the explosion in her torn and bloodied yellow uniform has been named as Nidhi Chaphekar.
Brussels airport immediately after the suicide bomb attack.
The suspect is believed to have escaped the airport.
The suspect is believed to have escaped the airport. Photograph: HO/AFP/Getty Images
  • An explosive device containing nails, “chemical products” and an Isis flag were discovered in a raid in Schaarbeek, a northern suburb of Brussels.
  • Islamic State claimed responsibility for the terror attacks, saying its operatives had carried out “a series of bombings with explosive belts and devices”. A later statement promised further attacks, saying “what is coming is worse and more bitter”.
  • The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, described it as a “black day” for Belgium, saying: “What we feared has happened.” He said Belgium would have three days of national mourning.
  • The League of Imams in Belgium condemned “firmly the criminal and unspeakable acts … which took the lives of tens of our citizens and injured countless others”.
  • Vigils have taken place across Belgium and around the world, including at Brussels’ Place de la Bourse.
A tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks.
A tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks. Photograph: Nicolas Kovarik/IP3/Getty Images

Updated

Australian PM: Europe's security 'allowed to slip'

The Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has criticised European security arrangements, arguing they were allowed to “slip” before Tuesday’s attacks in Belgium.

Turnbull had been asked whether an terrorist act similar to that in Brussels could occur in Australia.

He told the ABC:

You cannot guarantee that there will be no terrorist incident.

But I can assure Australians that our security system, our border protection, our domestic security arrangements are much stronger than they are in Europe, where regrettably they allowed security to slip.

Turnbull said vulnerabilities in European security were “not unrelated to the problems they’ve been having in recent times”.

The federal opposition leader, Labor’s Bill Shorten, said it was too soon after the attacks for “the prime minister [to] be telling the Belgians what they did wrong”:

For me, today, is about recognising that people have lost their lives – innocent people have lost their lives.

No doubt the hard questions will be asked in coming days.

Australia’s official threat level currently indicates a terrorist attack is “probable”.

Updated

Injured air crew member named as Nidhi Chaphekar

The Jet Airways crew member pictured on many of those front pages has been named in multiple media reports as Nidhi Chaphekar.

Australia’s Nine News said a spokesperson for Jet Airways had confirmed that Chaphekar – pictured in the immediate aftermath of the explosion in her torn and bloodied yellow uniform – was receiving treatment in hospital:

She was waiting to board a flight from Brussels to Newark at 10.15am local time. She is a cabin crew member.

We don’t have full information on the extent of her injuries. We know her location: she is in hospital and receiving medical care.

Chaphekar’s colleague Amit Motwani was also wounded in the attack but the injuries are not thought to be serious.

Newspaper front pages around the world are, unsurprisingly, dominated by the attacks on Brussels. You can see several of them here:

Dozens of Belgian expatriates have gathered in Union Square in Manhattan, bringing flowers, candles and flags to express solidarity with the victims and survivors of the attacks.

“It’s important to be here,” Renaud Vanlangendonck, a former teacher carrying his five-month-old daughter, told AFP. “We saw it in New York, Paris, Istanbul … and now it’s our country, it’s horrible.”

There was a visible police presence in Union Square as law enforcement bolstered security across America’s largest city.

The FBI and New York police were dispatching detectives as early as Tuesday night to investigate the Brussels attacks.

A number of US citizens, including three Mormon missionaries, are among the wounded.

We have more information from Peru’s foreign ministry about Adelma Tapia Ruiz, the first victim of the attacks to be named.

Tapia Ruiz, 37, was killed in the bombings at the Brussels airport.

Fernando Tapia, her brother, told Peruvian radio station RPP that his sister was at the airport with her Belgian husband, Christophe Delcambe, and their twin four-year-old daughters Maureen and Alondra, who also have Belgian nationality.

Earlier reports suggested one of the daughters was injured in the attack.

Tapia said his sister was catching a flight to New York, where she planned to meet their sisters.

The image of an injured woman in torn yellow clothes has featured prominently in coverage of the airport attacks, including the Guardian’s Wednesday front page, see below.

She has been identified as a crew member of India-based Jet Airways, Press Association reports. She has not been named.

The photograph, which shows her face covered in blood and dust and her yellow steward’s uniform shredded, emerged in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.

The airline confirmed that the victim was one of its staff in a tweet thanking well-wishers for their support.

The Jet Airways official account quoted a tweet from Indian actress Gul Panag – whose husband Rishi Attari is a pilot for the airline – who said: “It’s sad how insensitive media & SM is being, in broadcasting jetairways’ s injured crew member’s photo. Respect her privacy please!!!”

The airline confirmed that two of its staff were injured in the explosions and were receiving hospital treatment.

The photograph, which was posted on Twitter, featured on multiple newspaper front pages on Wednesday. Journalist Ketevan Kardava, a special correspondent for the Georgian Public Broadcaster based in Brussels, took the photo after being caught up in the attacks.

Updated

First victim named as Adelma Marina Tapia Ruiz

Adelma Marina Tapia Ruiz, who was from Peru and had lived in Brussels for six years, died during the attacks, the first victim to have been named so far, AFP reports.

The Peruvian foreign ministry has confirmed her identity.

“They took away everything she wanted to do with her life,” her brother, Fernando Tapia, told local media.

One of her daughters was wounded by flying debris.

Two Colombians and an Ecuadoran national also were among the wounded, their governments said.

[Note: this post has been edited to clarify that Fernando Tapia is the victim’s brother.]

Updated

Brazilian-Belgian man Sebastian Bellin suffered severe leg injuries while standing in line at a check-in counter at Zaventem airport.

The college basketball player, who reportedly played for the Belgian national team and for Oakland University in Michigan, was hit by shrapnel in the leg and hip and was left bleeding on the floor of the airport for an hour, according to his father.

Sebastien Bellin lies wounded on the floor of Brussels airport.
Sebastien Bellin lies wounded on the floor of Brussels airport. Photograph: Ketevan Kardava/AP

Jean Bellin told CNN:

My son is doing well, considering. He went through his first operation today. Because he was left for about an hour on the floor in the airport in Brussels he lost a lot of blood. So they stabilised him and now he is going to go through another operation.

I spoke with him twice. He is obviously stunned. The first words out of his mouth were: ‘You wouldn’t believe the carnage I saw around.’

He was very clear and articulate even though he was obviously in a lot of pain. The second time I spoke to him he was obviously sedated and feeling a lot more tired.

All I know is that force of the blast where he was was sufficient to throw him 6ft [1.8m] up in to the air and he landed back and he got shrapnel in his left leg and his right hip.

Very quickly there were photos of him circulating in the Belgium press and, because we have a huge network of friends in Belgium, they reached out and sent a picture of him on the floor and asked: is that really Seb?

And that was four in the morning. California time. That is how we found out.

Updated

What we know so far

  • At least 31 people are known to have died in a series of explosions in Brussels on Tuesday morning.
  • The first two blasts were at Zaventem airport, to the north-east of the city centre, at around 8am local time; at least 11 people died here and up to 100 were injured.
  • A third went off at Maelbeek metro station on the rue de la Loi, close to the European Union headquarters. Twenty people died in this attack and 130 were injured.
  • Two of the suspected attackers were captured on CCTV dressed in black and wearing black gloves on their left hands thought to have concealed detonators. Federal prosecutor Frederic van Leeuw said the two men “very likely committed a suicide attack”.
These two men are believed to have detonated bombs in the airport, killing themselves and several others.
These two men are believed to have detonated bombs in the airport, killing themselves and several others. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Police say this suspect fled the airport.
Police say this suspect fled the airport. Photograph: HO/AFP/Getty Images
  • An explosive device containing nails, “chemical products” and an Isis flag were discovered in a raid in Schaarbeek, a northern suburb of Brussels.
  • Islamic State claimed responsibility for the terror attacks, saying its operatives had carried out “a series of bombings with explosive belts and devices”. A later statement promised further attacks, saying “what is coming is worse and more bitter”.
  • But it was still “too early to make a direct connection between the attacks in Paris and today’s attacks”, Van Leeuw said.
  • The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, described it as a “black day” for Belgium, saying: “What we feared has happened.” He said Belgium would have three days of national mourning.
  • The League of Imams in Belgium condemned “firmly the criminal and unspeakable acts … which took the lives of tens of our citizens and injured countless others”.
  • Vigils have taken place across Belgium and around the world, including at Brussels’ Place de la Bourse.
People gather at Place de la Bourse.
People gather at Place de la Bourse. Photograph: Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images

Updated

Across Europe on Tuesday evening, the colours of the Belgian flag – black, yellow and red – have been projected on to national landmarks in a show of solidarity.

The image below shows a selection of these (from top left): the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Eiffel tower in Paris, the town council building in Belgrade, the Trevi fountain in Rome, the Royal Palace at Dam Square in Amsterdam and Rome’s Campidoglio.

The colours of the Belgian flag projected in tribute to the victims of attacks in Brussels.
The colours of the Belgian flag projected in tribute to the victims of attacks in Brussels. Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images

Islamic State has issued an updated communiqué taking credit for the Brussels attacks and threatening other countries in the anti-Isis coalition, Associated Press reports.

The statement promises “dark days” for countries allied against Isis, threatening that “what is coming is worse and more bitter”.

The communiqué was published in Arabic and French, and an English translation was provide by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi websites.

Although no link between the attacks on Paris in November and Tuesday’s assault on Brussels has been officially confirmed, investigators will of course be looking for potential links in the planning and execution of the two.

Angelique Chrisafis reports on four suspects still being sought in connection with the Paris terror attacks:

Several key suspects in the Paris attacks are still on the run despite an international manhunt.

Najim Laachraoui, 24, whose nationality has not been given, was identified this week as a key suspect previously known by his alias, Soufiane Kayal. He is reported to have travelled to Syria in 2013 and was travelling with Salah Abdeslam under his alias in September 2015 when their Mercedes was stopped at the Hungarian border with Austria.

Laachraoui’s DNA had been found at an apartment used by the attackers in Auvelais, near the central Belgian city of Namur, which he had rented under a false name. Traces were also found at another suspected hideout in Schaerbeek, a district of Brussels.

Also still being hunted by police is Mohamed Abrini, 31, a Belgian of Moroccan origin, who was described on his international arrest warrant four months ago as “dangerous and probably armed”. He is a childhood friend of Abdeslam — their families used to be next-door neighbours in Molenbeek. He disappeared after allegedly playing a key part in the planning and logistics of the attacks.

Two other brothers, Khalid and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, are also being hunted, suspected of hiring properties as hideouts for the Paris terrorist team.

Police in Belgium have also released more images of the two men they say blew themselves up at Zaventem airport – who are, as yet, unidentified:

New photos of escaped suspect

Belgian police have issued these further images of the man they believe fled the airport after his bomb failed to detonate, asking: “Do you recognise this man?”

New warning for Americans in Europe

The US state department has issued a fresh warning to Americans in Europe following the bombings in Brussels. It said:

Terrorist groups continue to plan near-term attacks throughout Europe, targeting sporting events, tourist sites, restaurants and transportation.

In wide-ranging advice, it urged US citizens to be vigilant when in public places or using mass transportation, to avoid crowded places and to use extra caution during religious holidays and at large festivals and events.

Its advice for US citizens currently in Brussels itself is here.

Updated

Belgium has asked EU ministers to meet to discuss the attacks, the Dutch justice minister has said on Twitter.

It is possible the meeting will take place on Thursday morning, Ard van der Steur said. The Netherlands, which currently holds the rotating European Union presidency, will organise the event.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has condemned the “despicable” attacks, according to a statement issued by his office:

The despicable attacks today struck at the heart of Belgium and the center of the European Union.

The secretary-general hopes those responsible will be swiftly brought to justice.

[Ban] is confident that Belgium’s and Europe’s commitment to human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence will continue to be the true and lasting response to the hatred and violence of which they became a victim today.

The UN security council said the 15 members of the panel

expressed their solidarity to Belgium in their fight against terrorism and stressed the need to intensify regional and international efforts to overcome terrorism and violent extremism, which may be conducive to terrorism.

This useful graphic from Agence France-Presse shows at a glance the levels of security alert currently in place across European countries.

Belgium has now moved to the highest level of alert – level 4 – which denotes a “serious and imminent attack” is likely.

Other countries, including the UK, Germany, France (which remains in a state of emergency following the November attacks in Paris) and Spain have a heightened level of alert, meaning there is a serious risk of a terrorist attack.

Australian leaders have condemned terrorist attacks in Brussels which have killed at least 31 and wounded 250 – although authorities have not yet determined if any Australians have been affected, Paul Karp reports.

Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said:

All Australians condemn these cowardly terrorist attacks in Brussels. And the Belgian people have our thoughts, our prayers and our resolute solidarity in this battle against terrorism.

They are utterly cowardly attacks, attacking innocent people, but we need to be constantly vigilant: vigilance is the key.

So far we have no news of Australians being killed or injured.

Foreign minister Julie Bishop said in a statement:

The Australian government condemns the coordinated terror attacks on 22 March in Belgium. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the people of Belgium.

The department of foreign affairs and trade is urgently seeking to determine whether any Australians have been affected.

Australians concerned about family and friends in Brussels are advised to call the Dfat 24-hour consular emergency centre on 1300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 if calling from overseas.

Belgium’s interior minister, Jan Jambon, has just been speaking to CNN about the manhunt that is currently underway to track the third suspect seen on airport CCTV.

He told CNN:

Based on what we found after the attacks, we had some information and we did a lot of house searches today …

It’s very dangerous to give details from the investigation because what we don’t want is to alert, maybe, terrorists that are still active in this country.

We showed a photograph [with] these three people … Two of them killed themselves, suicide bombers, and the third left a bomb in the airport but it didn’t explode, lucky. We are now looking for this guy.

Is the attack linked to the arrest of Paris suspect Salah Abdeslam in Brussels last week, he is asked. Jambon says he is proud of the professionalism of police and investigators. But he adds:

We are also convinced that the terrorists of IS are professionals, too, and well-trained and well-formed. So it’s a difficult battle against them but I am convinced that we will win.

Read analysis by my colleague Jason Burke here on the potential links between Abdeslam’s arrest and Tuesday’s onslaught:

Updated

Details of injured Americans

We have some more details of Americans who were injured in the attacks. The AFP news agency has these details on three Mormon missionaries from Utah who were seriously wounded in the blasts at the airport.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement that Mason Wells, 19, Richard Norby, 66, and Joseph Empey, 20, were accompanying a French colleague who was heading to the US and was also wounded.

Mason Wells and Joseph Empey were injured in Tuesday’s explosion at Brussels airport.
Mason Wells and Joseph Empey were injured in Tuesday’s explosion at Brussels airport. Photograph: Joseph Empey/AP

AFP reports:

US media reports said that in a dark twist of fate, Wells had a similarly close call three years ago while in Boston accompanying his mother who was running the marathon.

The event was the target of a terror attack that killed three and wounded scores more.

NBC News, quoting Wells’s family, said he was also in Paris in November when the French capital was rocked by a series of attacks.

Utah’s Deseret News daily quoted a friend of the Wells family as saying the teen and Empey had both suffered burns and other injuries.

Wells “has burns to his hands and legs and some to his face”, Lloyd Coleman told the paper.

“Most of the damage is around his foot and ankle. A heel took the most damage, and the doctors are repairing it, but the family doesn’t know how bad the injury is.”

The US air force earlier said one of its service members from Joint Force Command Brunssum (a Nato command), the Netherlands, along with several of his relatives were also injured but their names and details of their conditions have not been released.

Updated

The front pages of Wednesday’s European newspapers are starting to emerge. Here are some of those from Belgium:

De Morgen

Le Soir: ‘Hold on’

Het Belang van Limburg: ‘Our darkest day’

De Tijd: ‘Never safe’

Updated

Francis Vermeiren, the mayor of Zaventem, where the airport is located, has told reporters the suspects “came in a taxi with their suitcases, their bombs were in their bags”:

They put their suitcases on trolleys, the first two bombs exploded.

The third also put his on a trolley but he must have panicked, it did not explode.

The first two men are believed to have died in the attacks, the federal prosecutor said earlier on Tuesday.

The third man, pictured wearing a light-coloured jacket and a hat in CCTV images from the airport, is thought to have escaped the scene of the explosions. Belgian police are staging a massive manhunt to find him.

Summary: what we know so far

  • At least 31 people are known to have died in a series of explosions in Brussels on Tuesday morning.
  • The first two blasts were at Zaventem airport, to the north-east of the city centre, at around 8am local time; 11 people died here and at least 92 were injured.
  • A third went off at Maelbeek metro station on the rue de la Loi, close to the European Union headquarters. Twenty people died in this attack and 130 were injured.
Brussels terror attacks: how events unfolded – video explainer.
  • Two of the suspected attackers were captured on CCTV dressed in black and wearing black gloves on their left hands thought to have concealed detonators. Federal prosecutor Frederic van Leeuw said the two men “very likely committed a suicide attack”.
  • Belgian police launched a series of raids in a massive manhunt for a third man, who is thought to have escaped following the attacks. The identities of the men are not known.
Federal police said this image shows suspects at Brussels airport: they are hunting for the man on the right in the hat.
Federal police said this image shows suspects at Brussels airport: they are hunting for the man on the right in the hat. Photograph: SIPA/REX/Shutterstock
  • An explosive device containing nails, “chemical products” and an Isis flag were discovered in a raid in Schaarbeek, a northern suburb of Brussels.
  • Islamic State claimed responsibility for the terror attacks, saying its operatives had carried out “a series of bombings with explosive belts and devices”. It said its extremists had opened fire at the airport and that “several of them” detonated suicide belts in both attacks.
  • But it was still “too early to make a direct connection between the attacks in Paris and today’s attacks”, Van Leeuw said.
  • The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, described it as a “black day” for Belgium, saying: “What we feared has happened.” He said Belgium would have three days of national mourning.
  • The League of Imams in Belgium condemned “firmly the criminal and unspeakable acts … which took the lives of tens of our citizens and injured countless others”.
  • Vigils have taken place across Belgium, including at Brussels’ Place de la Bourse.
People gather to leave tributes at the Place de la Bourse.
People gather to leave tributes at the Place de la Bourse. Photograph: Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images

Muslim leaders in Belgium unilaterally condemned the attacks in Brussels on Tuesday.

In a statement, the League of Imams in Belgium (La Ligue des Imams de Belgique), that it condemned “firmly the criminal and unspeakable acts” committed today, “which took the lives of tens of our citizens and injured countless others.”

The League added that it wanted to express “its entire solidarity and sincere condolences to the families of those struck by tragedy today” ... The League also said that, facing tragedy, the league called on “the solidarity of all the citizens of the country, of all confessions to overcome this and not to fall prey to “traps laid by those who wish to push us to the limits of tolerance and communal living.”

More on the statement here (in French).

Stib, Brussels’ mass transport operator, has updated residents on the state of transport in the city tomorrow (Wednesday):

Meanwhile, the Brussels Airport has tweeted that the airport will remain closed tomorrow, with passengers told to contact their airline for further instructions. No cargo flights are being allowed entry to the airport either, “only empty flights from international carriers are admitted. The brucargo zone landside is accessible.”

German police said on Tuesday night that they had arrested three people in a car with a Belgian licence plate near the border with Austria and had launched an investigation into whether they had planned to carry out an attack, according to Reuters.

The three suspects from Kosovo were arrested before the attacks that killed at least 30 people at a metro station and the international airport in Brussels, the spokesman said.
Police made the arrests on a motorway in the southern state of Bavaria after receiving an intelligence tip-off.

“Investigations have been launched into the suspected planning of a serious criminal act against the state because there was notification of that,” the spokesman said. He said there was no indication so far that the three suspects had any links to the attacks in the Belgian capital, adding that this could not be ruled out.

Germany stepped up security measures at airports, train stations and the borders with Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg after the explosions in Brussels.

Updated

More details have emerged about the Americans hurt in the bomb blasts that killed 31 and wounded more than 200 people today.

An US air force officer, his wife and four children were injured in the attack at the Brussels airport, US officials said. European Command officials would not release details of the injuries to the Air Force officer or his family, due to privacy concerns, but officials confirmed the officer was a lieutenant colonel, and that he and his family were injured at the attacks in the airport.

This comes as US authorities are set to bolster security at American airports and other transit hubs in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Brussels, despite officials saying they do not have credible intelligence about terrorism in the United States, write Spencer Ackerman and Amanda Holpuch:

The Transportation Security Administration will send additional personnel and security measures “to major city airports in the United States, and at various rail and transit stations around the country”, announced Jeh Johnson, the US secretary of homeland security, who called it a “precautionary measure” rather than a response to a specific threat.

Johnson said his department, tasked with preventing or mitigating domestic terrorism, will monitor attempts by what he called “individuals of suspicion” to travel from Belgium to the US.

More here:

For the aftermath of a terrorist atrocity, there was a surprising amount of laughter at the Zaventem crisis centre, writes Paul Nolan.

Those at the makeshift structure – a sports hall near Brussels airport – were the lucky ones, and they were counting their blessings.

Amid the hundreds of stranded passengers, Ian Boag, a a retired Briton who used to work at the European commission, said he had been in the departures hall when one of the blasts detonated. He said he hit the floor after hearing the blast and assumed it was a bomb. Last night he said he felt “homeless and undocumented”, but was relieved to be alive.

People in Zaventem yesterday were banding together. Officials toured the sports centre with signs offering travel to various cities, handing out apples, waffles and water.

People walk outside the crisis center around Brussels airport, in Zaventem.
People walk outside the crisis center around Brussels airport, in Zaventem. Photograph: Virginie Lefour/AFP/Getty Images

Henry Dewespelaere, a 22-year-old butcher, was one of a team of local volunteers in fluorescent yellow vests compiling lists of the passengers’ names and nationalities.

Thierry de Valck, a 43-year-old telecommunications operator from Zaventem, was another, offering free taxi rides to survivors. He said he had come to help after hearing that volunteers were needed on the radio. He was working from the morning and by yesterday afternoon had ferried dozens of people to various locations in Belgium except Brussels, which was gridlocked.

Not everyone, though, could be so easily helped. Sixteen-year-old Fazillah, traveling from Mumbai to Newark on Jet Airways with a stopover in Brussels with her younger sister and mother, said she was waiting for her father to pick her up. The family said they were unaware of the security situation in Brussels and had never heard of Salah Abdeslam.

Nico and Isabelle, a young Franco-Belgian couple, were figuring out what to do next. They had planned a skiing trip and had boarded a flight to Geneva before being evacuated. Nico said he had been alerted to the blasts by a crowd of distraught people near the duty-free area and was ushered away into a secure location. Despite the commotion, the couple were told to board their flight- only for the aeroplane to sit on the runway for nearly an hour, at which point the pilot confirmed the blasts and passengers were evacuated to an airport hangar before being transported to the crisis centre.

Belgian PM Charles Michel joined crowds gathered at the Place de la Bourse in Brussels tonight, to light a candle in memory of Tuesday’s attack victims.

A makeshift memorial has popped up in the heart of the city, with messages of condolence, outrage and love by people from around the world written in chalk on the pavement where the lit candles were placed.

Some among the crowd broke out into an impromptu rendition of Imagine by John Lennon. Others stood in sombre silence as teams of armed police officers stood by in the wake of Tuesday’s terrorist atrocity.

Belgian prime minister Charles Michel embraces European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker at a makeshift memorial in front of the stock exchange at the Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) in Brussels.
Belgian prime minister Charles Michel embraces European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker at a makeshift memorial in front of the stock exchange at the Place de la Bourse (Beursplein) in Brussels. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images
People hold up a banner as a mark of solidarity at the Place de la Bourse following today’s attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium.
People hold up a banner as a mark of solidarity at the Place de la Bourse following today’s attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
Messages and tributes left by members of the public at the Place de la Bourse in Brussels following the terrorist attacks.
Messages and tributes left by members of the public at the Place de la Bourse in Brussels following the terrorist attacks. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Updated

The Belgian Crisis Center has said that schools will be open tomorrow in Brussels.

The center also put out an FAQ in English here (.pdf). Included an explanation of what threat level 4 means and information on travel on security.

Belgium’s interior minister, Jan Jambon, has told RTL TV that authorities knew that some kind of extremist act was being prepared in Europe but that they were surprised by the scale of the attacks in Brussels.

Jambon said on Tuesday that “it was always possible that more attacks could happen but we never could have imagined something of this scale”. Jambon said that “we had no information about this, but we know that things were moving in Europe, in different countries, in France, in Germany, here”.

He said the Belgian authorities have no information about the planning of “any kind of action in Brussels at this time”.

Updated

Update: 31 dead and 250 wounded

The Belgian health minister, Maggie De Block, has just spoken to Belgian broadcaster VTM and said there were 250 injured and 31 dead. Eleven were killed at Brussels airport and 20 at Maelbeek metro station.

There have been several conflicting reports on the numbers of dead and injured from both attacks. We will use De Block’s numbers until the next official update.

The Belgian authorities have opened an emergency phone line: +32 2 506 711.

Updated

The Brussels government has invited the Belgian population to observe a minute of silence, tomorrow (Wednesday) at 12pm.

The military hospital in Neder-over-Heembeek in northern Brussels has been treating victims of Tuesday’s attacks. Here is an x-ray of a person’s chest, which shows a big nail or screw.

The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office this afternoon said that a bomb with nails in was discovered during the raids on Schaerbeek.

X-ray image of the chest of a person injured during the Brussels terror attacks
The x-ray image of a person injured during the Brussels terror attacks shows a big nail or screw in the chest of the patient treated at the military hospital in Neder-over-Heembeek in northern Brussels. Photograph: Military Hospital in Neder-over-Heembeek/EPA

Updated

Belgian news organisation RTBF has spoken with Christian Delhasse, who was driving the train that came under attack in Maelbeek:

It was 9.15am when the bomb went off. We are on lines 1-5, and the train starts up again towards Arts-Loi when the bomb went off. The conductor immediately stopped his train and its three carriages, thinking at first that it was a technical problem. He quickly realised however that it was much worse. Christian wasn’t injured and immediately went to check on his passengers:

“I did what I had to do,” Delhasse told RTBF. “Nothing happened to me, not a single wound. I immediately followed the protocols, that’s all I can say.”

Delhasse, a Brussels resident, is in intense psychological shock. “Seeing bodies on the floor, it marks you.”

Read the full report here (in French). via RTBF reporter Karim Fadoul

Updated

European monuments are being lit up in solidarity with the victims of Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels.

In Paris:

The Eiffel Tower is seen with the black, yellow and red colours of the Belgian flag in tribute to the victims of today’s Brussels bomb attacks in Paris.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris is seen with the black, yellow and red colours of the Belgian flag in tribute to the victims of today’s Brussels bomb attacks. Photograph: Philippe Wojazer/Reuters

In Berlin:

People stand in front of the Brandenburg gate, which is illuminated in black, yellow and red in the colours of the Belgian flag in tribute to victims of Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels in Berlin.
In Berlin, the Brandenburg gate is illuminated in the colours of the Belgian flag in tribute to Tuesday’s victims. Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

In Lyon:

The courthouse in Lyon in tribute to the victims of today’s Brussels bomb attacks.
The courthouse in Lyon in tribute to the victims. Photograph: Robert Pratta/Reuters

Makeshift memorials have also popped up in Brussels, in tribute to the victims:

People light candles at a makeshift memorial in Brussels
People light candles at a makeshift memorial in Brussels in tribute to the victims. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

The governor of Utah, Gary Herbert, has confirmed that three Utahns serving as missionaries for the Mormon church were injured in the attacks at the Brussels airport:

“It is not uncommon for innocent victims to be targeted in these terrorist attacks, but seldom do we see people of faith who have forsaken everything – family, friends, school and careers – in order to share a message of hope and love with the world also fall victim,” Herbert said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Utahns injured are 66-year-old Richard Norby, 20-year-old Joseph Empey and 19-year-old Mason Wells, according to the Associated Press.

“To the Norby, Empey and Wells family, please know that the state of Utah is united in prayer at this time for the health and well being of your missionaries. As Utahns, we stand together with our fellow Americans and those around the world in our resolve to put an end to these acts of terror,” Herbert said.
The attacks came just before the Tuesday GOP caucus in Utah where immigration has become a particularly hot-button issue. Many Republican Mormon voters, even those with very conservative views on immigration and counter-terrorism efforts, oppose Donald Trump in part due to his outlandish proposals like banning all Muslims.

This content is cross-posted with our US politics live blog.

Updated

Prosecutor's office: 'Islamic State flag and explosive device found in Schaarbeek raid'

The Belgian prosecutor’s office has confirmed that raids were conducted in Schaarbeek, a northern suburb of Brussels, writes the Guardian’s Brussels correspondent, Jennifer Rankin:

“The searches ... have led to the discovery of an explosive device containing nails, among other things. The investigators have also discovered chemical products and an Islamic State flag.”

Updated

Police have re-established a security cordon at Zaventem airport after discovering a suspicious package, Flemish broadcaster VTM is reporting.

The cordon had been reduced earlier this afternoon after police completed their initial security sweep of the airport, but the discovery of this package will send the process back to square one, the station is reporting.

Updated

King Philippe: 'Belgium is in deep mourning'

King Philippe of Belgium has just addressed the nation, in a brief statement:

Belgium’s King Philippe.
Belgium’s King Philippe. Photograph: Belga Pool/EPA

He said Belgium was now in deep mourning, and said 22 March will never be the same again.

We are faced with a threat, but we will continue to work together calmly, surely and with dignity. We must continue to trust ourselves. This is our strength.”

The King also expressed his support and thanks for the emergency services: “We are so grateful for all those who have helped.”

Updated

Belgian prosecutor: 'Too early to make the link between Paris and today's attacks'

The Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw has also spoken at the press conference and has given details of the attack:

Federal Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw speaking at the press conference.
Frederic Van Leeuw speaking at the press conference. Photograph: Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP/Getty Images
  • There were several terrorist attacks this morning: two explosions in Zaventem and one in Maelbeek, which many killed and wounded.
  • Two of the three men in the CCTV photo “very likely committed a suicide attack.’
  • Van Leeuw confirmed that there is an active manhunt under way for the third man seen in CCTV footage at Zaventem airport dressed in white.
  • Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack through its media wing, but it was still “too early to make a direct connection between the attacks in Paris [in November] and today’s attacks”, Van Leeuw said. Isis’s claim of responsibility has not yet been formally verified, he said.
  • There are several raids under way across the country, but Van Leeuw warned of the risks of reporting details of active operations.
  • Witnesses are currently being questioned, with more being sought.
  • Several explosions were heard at the airport after the initial two blasts, but these were controlled detonations by security forces, Van Leeuw said, before warning that there may yet be more controlled detonations of suspect packages.
  • And with that, Van Leeuw declined to give any further information so as not to affect the ongoing investigations.

Updated

Belgian PM Charles Michel: 'We are determined to defend our freedom'

Charles Michel is speaking at a press conference in Brussels, in both French and Flemish:

Charles Michel at the press conference.
Charles Michel at the press conference. Photograph: Belga vi/Rex/Shutterstock
  • Michel announced that there will be three days of national mourning
  • Belgium wants to return to a normal life as soon as possible, he said.
  • Liberty has been struck at its heart, as it was in Paris recently, and was in London and Madrid in the recent past, Michel said.
  • “It is a common fight, it is a fight without borders,” Michel said. Belgium is very mobilised to succeed in the face of this tragic event, which has struck us in our hearts, he said.
  • “We are determined to defend our freedom,” Michel said with tears in his eyes.

Updated

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate for president and former US secretary of state, has told CNN:

“We do have to defeat Isis where they hold territory,” Clinton said, adding that the international community have to shut off the flow of foreign fighters and weapons out of Europe.

Clinton also said extremists have to be eradicated on the internet, which “has been a major tool in radicalising and propagandising.”

“We also need to do more to coordinate on intelligence with our European friends,” she said, adding that in her role as secretary of state, she urged European intelligence agencies to do more.

Clinton also said the US and Europe have to keep working with Muslim nations, to work in tandem against Isis and other jihadi groups.

“Here at home, we have to recruit everybody to be our first line of defence.”

Updated

Several media outlets are reporting that special forces and anti-terror police raids are under way in the Brussels suburb of Schaerbeek.

We’ll update as soon as we know more.

Updated

Belgian broadcaster VTM is reporting that a photograph released by federal prosecutors earlier today shows the two suspected suicide bombers responsible for the attack on Zaventem airport, though this has not yet been confirmed by Belgian police.

They were captured on CCTV wheeling baggage trolleys through the airport.

Belgian police have also appealed for help in identifying or apprehending the man seen dressed in white, who is thought to have fled the scene.

Updated

Summary

  • At least 30 people were killed and more than 230 injured in bomb attacks on Brussels’ Zaventem airport and a metro station in the Belgian capital on Tuesday morning. Twenty people died as a result of the explosion at the Maelbeek metro station and 10 from the two blasts at the airport.
  • Belgian police appealed for help identifying one of three men captured on CCTV wheeling baggage trolleys through the airport. The state broadcaster, RTBF, said two of the men were suspected suicide bombers.
  • Islamic State (Isis) claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to a news agency affiliated to the group.
  • The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, described it as a “black day” for Belgium, saying: “What we feared has happened.” The king is due to address the nation at 7pm (1800 GMT).
  • There was widespread international condemnation. US president Barack Obama pledged to “do whatever is necessary” to help Belgian authorities. His French counterpart, François Hollande, said terrorists had “struck Brussels, but it was Europe that was targeted, and all the world that is concerned”.
  • The pope condemned “blind violence which causes so much suffering” and Muslim groups also denounced the atrocities.
  • Among those confirmed injured were a British national, an Indian woman who was part of the crew of a Jet Airways plane, three Mormon missionaries based in Paris and a Starbucks employee at the airport.
  • People in Brussels rallied round to help those affected by the attacks. Taxis offered free rides, there was a huge rise in blood donations and people offered lifts, food or temporary shelter using the hashtags #ikwilhelpen – I want to help – and #OpenHouse.
  • The UK warned its citizens against all but essential travel to Brussels. It also beefed up security at transport interchanges in London, airports and ports. David Cameron said the UK stood with Belgium and said the terrorist threat must be met with “everything we have”.
  • The Twitter hashtags #Belgium and #PrayForBelgium were trending across Europe and the US within hours of the attacks. Images shared included Tintin, the cub reporter created by Belgian cartoonist Hergé, saying “Let’s be strong.”

This is Haroon Siddique in London, handing over to my colleague Raya Jalabi in New York.

Updated

Brussels airport CEO Arnaud Feist has confirmed to ABC News that a third bomb was found at the airport and was subsequently detonated in a controlled explosion.

Updated

A journalist with radio station VRT is reporting that the police are currently searching for two suspects. A photograph of one, seen dressed in white prior to the attack at Brussels airport, has been released by federal prosecutors.

Radio journalist Philip Heymans says a second man, who fled the scene at Maelbeek, is also wanted by police.

Updated

UK citizens warned against all but essential travel to Brussels

The Foreign Office has changed its travel advice to warn UK citizens against all but essential travel to Brussels. No 10 said Whitehall officials, police and intelligence agencies were meeting on Tuesday afternoon to discuss further their response to the attacks. Belgium has also accepted the UK’s offer of police help with the investigation into the terror incidents.

Updated

Martin Kettle writes for the Guardian that the bombers have taken advantage of Belgium being a “weak state”:

Belgium’s weak state reflects the fundamental fact that roughly three-fifths of Belgium’s modern population lives in Flanders, is Flemish speaking, and has deep cultural connections with the modern Netherlands to the north; meanwhile the other two-fifths are French-speaking Walloons, once prosperous but now increasingly economically marginalised and linked culturally with France to the south. The result from day one of Belgium’s history has been a compromised federal state, loosely held together by a constitutional monarchy originally installed by the British.

Belgium’s institutions inescapably reflect that disjuncture … Belgium’s inherent weakness, which dates from a distant era in European politics, is now Europe’s weakness too – and on Tuesday the terrorists showed that they know how to take advantage of it.

Deborah Orr says that neither apologies nor imperialism are the solution to terror attacks:

How can we pick our way through the intellectual debris that terrorist attacks leave in their wake, just as surely as they leave broken human bodies in their wake, without sounding like a cringing apologist or a bellicose imperialist? Both approaches further inflame an already appalling crisis of humanity, one that is ripping apart our politics, promoting racism, hatred and isolationism, feeding demagogues and warlords, and destroying any humane, liberal, open values that could help us to resist that which we most fear.

It cannot, surely, be beyond the wit of the world to find the common ground we need in order to stand united against the manufacturers and retailers of hate and death and tragedy.

Updated

Calls to create new security checkpoints at airports following the Brussels attacks could be counterproductive, a leading aviation security expert has warned. Philip Baum, author of Violence in the Skies, said that it would simply make new targets outside terminals and a different approach was needed.

He said:

It’s ultimately down to looking for people with negative intent and we have to do that without creating new security hurdles that create new targets, such as checkpoints at the entrance to terminals.

Baum said he had huge concerns about centralised screening because of the lines it creates.

If you look at the Germanwings crash, Metrojet bombing [the Sinai crash] or today, people with criminal intent think outside the box, and we need to too. We need security and plainclothes personnel at entrances and within terminals – and not just at airports, but stadia or shopping centres.

To respond to this, you need sufficient numbers of individuals trained to identify unusual movements, behaviour, contact between people – both airport staff and passengers – and how to respond to it. And you need to empower security people to make unilateral decisions to take whatever physical action necessary to neutralise that person, or move people away to protect them.

He said a “front of house attack” had been a threat that the aviation industry had been discussing for a considerable period of time, although such attacks within Europe had been rare since the 1985 shootings in Rome and Vienna. A suicide bomber killed 37 at Moscow’s Domodedovo International airport in 2011.

Canine patrols in terminals would be a further effective deterrent and security measure, Baum added. “From the terrorist perspective, the dog is not like a checkpoint that you can plot your way around.”

Updated

Andrew Carroll usually gets the metro every morning from Herrmann-Debroux to Maelbeek, where he works at the Japanese mission to the EU. He chose to sit at the back of the carriage, which he thinks may have saved his life.

I always take the smaller exit which leads to Chaussée d’Etterbeek, which is near the back and is closer to my office. Most people go through the larger exit, which leads out on to rue de la Loi, which is the main thoroughfare leading to the European commission and council headquarters.

I arrived in Maelbeek at the usual time and hopped straight on to the escalator. A few seconds later I heard two sharp banging noises which seemed to come from behind me, and there was a sudden rush of heated air. Immediately, the escalator stopped, the lights went out and dust rained down from the ceiling. I heard several screams, and we all started running upstairs and out into the street.

The scene outside was one of shock and confusion.

The floor was covered in broken glass. We kept running until we got to the Wild Geese pub about 100 metres away. People started spilling out of offices and cafes to ask us what had happened. We were all terrified. The emergency services arrived and cordoned off the area and we were forced to move further back.

I decided to try to walk to work, since it was probably safer to stay in my office than trying to walk back home. I saw many people who had been badly wounded and coated in dust from the explosions. I’m sitting in my office now, trying to process what has happened.

A Belgian soldier speaks to a police officer outside Brussels Central Station as people are allowed in small groups of ten to reach the station in order to take their commuter train following attacks in Brussels.
A Belgian soldier speaks to a police officer outside Brussels Central Station as people are allowed in small groups of 10 to reach the station in order to take their commuter train following attacks in Brussels. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Third bomb at airport was destroyed

A third bomb found at the airport has been destroyed by security services, the provincial governor said, Reuters reports.

Brussels airport chief executive Arnaud Feist has confirmed the airport will remain closed on Wednesday, describing today as a black day. He said:

On behalf of the entire airport community, I would like to extend our warmest condolences to the family and friends of the victims of these cowardly and heinous acts. I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the emergency and rescue services, passengers and staff for their compassion, solidarity and help. This is without doubt the blackest day in the history of Brussels airport.

Updated

Belgium’s Royal Palace has confirmed that King Philippe will address the nation in a live broadcast on all television channels at 7pm (1800 GMT), writes Oliver Milne.

Updated

Bernie Sanders, currently fighting for the Democratic nomination to contest the presidential election, said “the international community must come together to fight Isis”.

Updated

This video shows the aftermath of the bombing at Zaventem airport:

Video of attack on airport in Brussels

Updated

Belgian police release photo of man they wish to question

Oliver Milne writes:

Belgian police are appealing for help in identifying a potential suspect, who could have information about the attack on Zaventem airport this morning.

The unknown man, seen below dressed in white, is thought to be linked to this morning’s bombing which left at least 14 people dead.

The identity of the two other men is unknown.

The photograph was circulating on social media earlier this afternoon before Belgium’s federal prosecutor confirmed that the man in white was the subject of police inquiries.

Updated

Islamic State claims responsibility

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the two bomb attacks in Brussels, a news agency affiliated with the group said.

Amaq agency said:

Islamic State fighters carried out a series of bombings with explosive belts and devices on Tuesday, targeting an airport and a central metro station in the centre of the Belgian capital Brussels.

Updated

Three Mormon missionaries based in Paris have been seriously injured in the Brussels attacks. Their families have been informed.

The UN official in charge of aiding Middle East refugees criticised people directing anger over the attacks at those fleeing Syria’s bloody civil war or violence elsewhere in the region.

Amin Awad, the Middle East and North Africa bureau and regional refugee coordinator for Syria, said:

To lump everybody together and say refugees are posing a security risk, that is not true. Any sort of hostilities [toward refugees] because of the Brussels attack or Paris attack is misplaced.

Updated

Rita Katz, director of the Site intelligence group, predicts that Islamic State militants will claim responsibility for the attack based on messages of support expressed on accounts linked to the group.

Updated

US official: 'suitcase bomb at airport'

A US official says security officials believe at least one suitcase bomb was detonated at Brussels airport, AP reports.

The unnamed official confirmed a statement by a Brussels official that there is also concrete evidence of one suicide bombing at the airport on Tuesday as well.

The official said the explosives seen in Brussels appeared sophisticated. Investigators will examine them to see if they bear the same characteristics as those used in Paris last year.

Updated

Belgium’s interior minister Jan Jambon has announced three days of national mourning, writes Oliver Milne.

Jambon is expected to join Belgian prime minister Charles Michel at Zaventem airport in the next few hours, where they will tour the scene of this morning’s atrocities.

Updated

People in the surrounding area near Maelbeek metro station are still on lockdown, writes Rachel Obordo. Georgia Knapp, who works in the European commission building, arrived at Schuman, the next metro stop, just before the explosion.

“I feel very lucky but everyone is scared,” she said on WhatsApp. “We were a lot more terrified this morning and we could see smoke coming from the roof of Maalbeek station, people are just kind of in shock here. It’s very surreal. We are waiting for more information from our internal security about when we can leave. We don’t actually have a lot of information.”

Paramedics preparing to tend to the injured
Paramedics preparing to tend to the injured Photograph: Georgia Knapp

Brendon Pinch is also in the European Quarter. He walked to work this morning around the time the blasts were heard and is at work where they’ve been told to stay inside.

He said: “There were many people on the streets on their phones and looking dazed. There are constant sirens at the moment. It reminds me very much of when I worked in the City during 7/7. The confusion and upset is palpable. I’m strangely emotional, yet also quite detached. Terrorism does have quite the effect.”

Updated

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has chaired a meeting of Scotland’s resilience committee in the wake of the attacks.

Updated

Europe’s foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, broke down in tears during a speech in Brussels.

She said it was a “a very sad day for Europe”.

Updated

Rudi Vervoort, minister-president of the Brussels-Capital region has said he feels “a horror that cannot be named” but praised the response of the Belgian people:

I would like to express my support to the victims of the attacks of this morning, at the Brussels airport in Zaventem and in the metro station Maelbeek. My thoughts are also directed to their families and closest.

This attack, without any precedent in Belgium, targeted strong symbols of its capital: its airport and its public transportation network. As a Brussels citizen, I feel a horror that cannot be named.

My greatest recognition goes to all members of the security and emergency force that are heavily mobilised to assist the victims.

I want to address our determination. We will let no one cowardly attack the values of democracy. Barbarism will be fought continuously. Brussels will overcome obscurantism.

Today, Brussels shows its true nature: an exemplar solidarity through massive blood donations, the gratuity of taxis and the numerous citizens that are opening their homes to host strangers in need on social networks.

He said that public transportation had been shut down but the authorities would do everything in their power to reopen the surface network today. He urged parents not to turn up at schools before the end of the day, saying children would be kept inside safely.

I call on the Brussels population to remain calm and to avoid all unnecessary movements.

Updated

Here’s more from Obama.

Obama offers support against 'scourge of terrorism'

Barack Obama

Barack Obama has offered Belgium his support against the “scourge of terrorism”. He also offered his condolences in a phone call to Belgium’s prime minister, Charles Michel.

A read out of the call issued by the White House said:

The President reaffirmed the steadfast support of the United States for Belgium, and offered any assistance necessary in investigating these attacks and bringing those responsible to justice. The President reiterated that the United States stands together with the people of Belgium, as well as Nato and the European Union, and once again pledged the full cooperation and support of the United States in our shared commitment to defeat the scourge of terrorism.

Starbucks has said that one of the explosions appears to have occurred outside a coffee shop in Brussels airport, injuring an employee. It said in a statement:

We are deeply saddened by the senseless acts that have taken place in Brussels today.

Amidst reports of attacks targeting Brussels airport and at a metro station, initial indications are that an explosion took place outside of a store within the airport. While one partner (employee) was injured we can confirm that all our partners have been accounted for and are safe. This store and all other Starbucks stores in Brussels will remain closed until further notice.

Updated

The headquarters of the European commission will be evacuated by Belgian police at 4pm local time, according to VTM news.

The Berlaymont building, where flags were lowered to half-mast earlier today, will be emptied so that police can perform a full security sweep of the building, it said.

Labour MEP Richard Corbett is currently locked in at the nearby European parliament building.

Updated

Responding to the attacks, Pope Francis has condemned “blind violence which causes so much suffering”.

In a telegram to the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, the pope “expresses his deepest sympathy to the injured and their families, and all those who contribute to relief efforts, asking the Lord to bring them comfort and consolation in this ordeal. The Holy Father again condemns the blind violence which causes so much suffering and, imploring from God the gift of peace, he entrusts on the bereaved families and the Belgians the benefit of divine blessings.”

There has also been reaction from different faith groups in the UK.

Dr Shuja Shafi, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said:

We are shocked to hear about the terror attacks in Brussels, coming as they did only a few days after the horrific atrocities in Istanbul. I hope the killers are brought to justice and face the full force of the law.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, families and communities affected.

As we come to terms with yet another attack on European soil, we must redouble our efforts to work together to defeat terrorism wherever it comes from. These mass murderers want to divide our society and pit people against each other. We must deny them this goal at every conceivable opportunity.

The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said:

In the great holy week of Christian prayer and mercy, the Brussels attacks shock all those who seek peace and justice through the terrible cruelty and utter separation from all that is of God. Once again we see the contrast between the vain efforts to terrify through indiscriminate murder, and the call of God to be those who show mercy, who seek peace and pursue it. Let us at every service this week pray for those caught up in the traumatic events at the airport and in the city of Brussels.

Updated

People write down messages at the Bourse building in the city centre of Brussels after today’s terrorist attacks
People write down messages at the Bourse building in the city centre of Brussels after today’s terrorist attacks Photograph: Belga vi/REX/Shutterstock

A square outside the Bourse in Brussels has become transformed into a giant blackboard for people to chalk messages of defiance and solidarity.

Updated

And in case you didn’t believe us earlier, here’s video of Trump’s comments.

Here’s video of part of Cameron’s statement on the attacks.

Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner to be the Democratic presidential candidate, said the attacks “strengthen our resolve to stand together to fight terrorism”.

The French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, said the attacks reinforced the need for “very high security” at this summer’s European football championship in France, AP reports.

Cazeneuve said that everything will be put in place during the tournament from 10 June-10 July to guarantee “collective security”.

In the wake of the Paris attacks that left 130 people dead in November, tournament organisers had already strengthened security measures and made changes to fan zones. Cazeneuve said the state would contribute up to €2m for video surveillance in the designated areas for the public.

Cazeneuve said Euro 2016 should bring “sportsmanship, festivities and security for teams, accompanying staff and spectators”.

Updated

Parents in Belgium have been told that there is no reason to panic and to pick up their children from school at the normal time, writes Oliver Milne.

Speaking to VTM News, the Flemish education minister, Hilde Crevits, said: “Parents’ concerns are understandable, but they should stay where they are. Your children are secure and safe in school.”

Crevits also told viewers that all after-school clubs and school trips had been cancelled and that extra security measures had been put in place in all schools in Brussels and Flanders.

Updated

As yet there has been no claim of responsibility, but social media accounts linked to Islamic State militants have praised the attacks, according to jihadi watcher Michael Horowitz, a security analyst at the Levantine Group.

Updated

The Belgian Taxi Drivers Union has urged its members to offer free rides to those stranded after the attacks, writes Oliver Milne.

The union tweeted: “Friends offer your services to your fellow citizens and help evacute people safely. Thank you.”

More than a hundred people were injured and at least 20 people were killed at the Maelbeek metro station, writes Oliver Milne.

Speaking at a press conference, the mayor of Brussels, Yvan Mayeur, said that at least 20 people died in the explosion at the metro station, but that it is “too early to say exactly what the number of victims will be”.

He confirmed that 106 people had been injured in the metro station blast.

Updated

The social media response to the Brussels attacks has many echoes of the reaction to the Paris attacks in November and the raid on the Charlie Hebdo magazine, writes Elena Cresci.

One of the most widely shared comes from Le Monde cartoonist Plantu:

Others have shared pictures of a crying Tintin:

Illustrators have also taken inspiration from Mannekin Pis, the landmark sculpture in Brussels of a boy urinating into a fountain.

Or this image of fries giving the middle finger:

There have also been cartoons criticising the difference between the reactions to attacks elsewhere in the world and in Europe. Ali Dilem, a cartoonist for TV5Monde and Algerian newspaper Liberté tweeted the following:

Commemorative hashtags used so far include #JeSuis

Updated

Witnesses describe explosions inside the terminal building at Brussels airport in this video.

A US official has said there are no current indications of a terror threat to the United States following the Brussels attacks, writes Spencer Ackerman.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), tasked with protecting the US from a domestic attack, encouraged Americans to “report any suspicious activity in their communities to the appropriate law enforcement authorities” following the attack.

DHS press secretary Marsha Catron urged public vigilance and warned that the department would “not hesitate to adjust our security posture, as appropriate, to protect the American people”.

A White House official said President Barack Obama, currently visiting Cuba, was “apprised” of the Brussels attack and that administration officials would “continue to be in close contact with their Belgian counterparts”.

Updated

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has added his voice to those condemning the attacks. He said:

Today, our thoughts and sympathies are with the people of Brussels.

“We stand in solidarity with the victims of these horrific attacks, their friends and families, and the men and women of the emergency services.

“We must defend our security and values in the face of such terrorist outrages, and refuse to be drawn into a cycle of violence and hatred.

“We take pride in our societies of diverse faiths, races and creeds and will not allow those who seek to divide us to succeed.”

World leaders from across the world continue to express horror at the attacks.

Updated

Flags are being flown at half-mast on UK government buildings in solidarity with Belgium, and the Belgian flag is being raised over Downing Street.

After the Cobra emergency meeting chaired by the prime minister, David Cameron’s official spokeswoman said security has been increased in the UK at airports, Dover, Calais, London St Pancras International and the east coast ports. It has also been increased at key London transport interchanges and on the tube system.

Updated

Thomas Bignal, a Briton living in Brussels, sent this video to the Guardian after being evacuated from a metro train just outside Maelbeek station, which is 400m from his office.

He said:

“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.

“The STIB driver came out after a minute and told everyone to wait, that there was a bomb and that we would go out through the back of the train. It then took maybe about 15 mins for everyone to get out. We then walked back through the tracks to Arts Loi, two policemen came to help a man with a walking stick and the STIB driver was really excellent.”

“On the surface, there was not any support, everyone just went their own way. The police had blocked the roads – they also told us they didn’t know much more than us and it was all a bit surreal.”

If you’re in Brussels you can share your eyewitness accounts, photos and videos or news tips direct with our journalists by clicking on the blue button in the live blog.

You can also email, text, tweet, fill in our form or contact us on WhatsApp on +447867825056.

Please think about your security first when recording and sharing your content.

Updated

The confirmed death toll from both attacks now stands at 34.

Maggie de Block, the Belgian health minister, said 14 people died and 81 were injured in the airport explosions.

The Belgian metro authority, STIB-MIVB, and emergency services said 20 people were killed in the Maelbeek metro blast. STIB-MIVB said a further 55 people were injured, including 10 critically.

Updated

An unexploded suicide vest, thought to belong to a third terrorist at Brussels airport, was discovered at the facility, according to an unconfirmed report by the private broadcaster VTM.

It was blown up in a controlled explosion by a bomb squad.

Updated

Police have conducted a controlled explosion at the Vrije University in central Brussels.

One British national injured

One British national is known to have been injured in the bomb attack on the airport in Brussels, Downing Street said.

Updated

Oliver Milne writes

Flemish news channel VTM is reporting that the Belgian justice department is warning journalists, from Belgium and abroad, not to report on ongoing police investigations which could put the lives of the public or police officers at risk.

French language newspaper Le Soir pledged that it would not report on active police operations.

Updated

Reports saying that the Royal Palace in Brussels was evacuated after the attacks were incorrect, the Belgian monarchy Twitter account says.

Updated

The Guardian’s Arthur Neslen has been speaking to health officials at a hospital where some of the injured are being treated.

I asked Renaud Mazy, the hospital CEO if they wanted soldiers diverted here to help.

He said: “I’m not requesting help – we can organise ourselves and take the right decisions – but due to the fact that it’s a hospital with lots of people in it, it’s maybe better for the authorities to send specific protection here.”

Officials set up a ‘Mash’ operation – it’s actually called Mash – where 11 people are being treated so far.

They’re expecting more and I get the sense they’re worried about more attacks. The hospital is also in a kind of lockdown. There are body searches on way in.

Updated

People in Belgium are tweeting #ikwillhelpen, “I want to help”, offering rooms and shelter to people who are stranded in Brussels because of the attacks.

Belgians are also using #PorteOuvert and #OpenHouse:

The hashtag is similar to #PorteOuvert, which was used by Parisians in the wake of November’s attacks, to offer aid to those affected with nowhere to stay.

Updated

Report: 34 dead

The death toll from both the attacks has increased to 34, according to an unconfirmed report by the Belgium broadcaster VRT.

It said 20 died in the metro attack and 14 were killed at the airport.

Updated

Donald Trump
Donald Trump Photograph: NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

In phone calls to US television shows, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said Brussels was a once beautiful place that had become a “disaster city” and an “armed camp” before today’s attacks, writes Amanda Holpuch.

He said such changes to the city, as in Paris, showed why the US should stop letting immigrants into the country.

Trump told Fox & Friends that if he were president, “I would close up our borders to people until we figure out what’s going on.”

Pressed by NBC’s Today Show, 15 minutes later, to explain who he would prevent from entering the country, Trump said he would exclude people from Syria and people who do not have “perfect documentation”.

He did not say that he would prevent Muslims from entering the country, as he has done repeatedly in the past, but he did suggest that Muslims were responsible for terrorist attacks if they did not report neighbours’ suspicious behaviour to authorities.

If Trump were president today, he said he would give US citizens a “pep talk”.

The Today presenters asked Trump what he would do if, as in the case in Belgium, he had Salah Abdeslam, a suspect in last year’s Paris attacks, in custody.

“If they could expand the laws, I would do a lot more than waterboarding,” Trump said. “You have to get the information from people.”

Updated

Cameron says 'we absolutely stand' with Belgium

David Cameron says “we absolutely stand” with the Belgian people and that he has spoken to the Belgian prime minister, offering condolences and security support. He says the attacks could just as well have happened in Germany or the UK.

We face a very real terrorist threat right across the different countries of Europe and we have to meet that with everything we have.

The UK prime minister said it was too early to say whether any British people were caught up in the attacks. All necessary measures had been taken including increasing security at ports and airports, he said. The threat level to the UK, currently at its second highest level, would not be increased.

He said Ukip’s comments that the attack showed the Schengen area was a threat to UK security were “not appropriate”.

Updated

American Airlines has said the explosions at Brussels airport did not occur near its check-in desk, as some reports suggested.

Updated

The mayor of London has suggested there might be one British “casualty” but it was unclear whether he was referring to someone possibly killed or injured.

The BBC’s Norman Smith reports that a British person is reported to be injured.

Updated

CNN is reporting that the Belgian royal family has been evacuated.

Journalist Matthew Keys has put together air traffic audio of a pilot being told of the attack as his plane approached Brussels airport.

Updated

Trump and Ukip blame 'lax' border controls

Reuters has a little more on Donald Trump’s reaction on Fox News.

He said: “I would close up our borders … We are lax and we are foolish.”

Ukip took a similar line. Its defence spokesman, Mike Hookem, blamed the attack on freedom of movement.

He said: “This horrific act of terrorism shows that Schengen free movement and lax border controls are a threat to our security.”

Updated

An Indian woman working for Jet Airways is among the injured, India’s minister of external affairs has said.

Updated

A Kalashnikov rifle has been found in the departure hall at Zaventem airport, according to Belgian news channel RTBF.

A Slovenian diplomat is among the injured, the Slovenian foreign minister, Karl Erjavec, has told reporters.

Erjavec told a news conference that the diplomat, who was not named, was in hospital and his life was not in danger.

Media reports said the diplomat was injured in the metro blast on his way to work.

Updated

Statements from officials put the death toll at 26, with 136 wounded.

Maggie de Block, the Belgian health minister, confirmed that 11 people died and 81 were injured in the airport explosions, which the Belgian prosecutor said were caused by a suicide attack.

The Belgian metro authority, STIB-MIVB, told RTBF that at least 15 people were killed in the Maelbeek metro blast and 55 were injured, including 10 critically.

Updated

The US president, Barack Obama, who is visiting Cuba, has been briefed on the blasts.

“The president was apprised this morning of the explosions in Brussels, Belgium,” an official said after the blasts at Brussels airport and a metro station. “US officials have been and will continue to be in close contact with their Belgian counterparts.”

Meanwhile US Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump reacted by saying he would “close up borders”.

Updated

Flags at the European commission have been lowered.

A spokesman for the commission said Europe was united against terrorism.

Updated

The French president, François Hollande, says the whole of Europe has been hit by today’s attack.

There has been widespread international condemnation.

Updated

Belgian TV station Ring TV has posted an appeal to people living near Zaventem airport to bring blankets, water, food and essential medical supplies to the local gym being used as a makeshift shelter, writes Oliver Milne.

Updated

Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins calls for “patience and restraint” in response to the attacks.

He writes:

The blanket media coverage assured for any act of violence is reckless. The media must “report”, but it need not go berserk in revelling in the violence caused, as it manifestly has done to Islamic State brutality. More serious, the intention of the terrorist is clearly to shut down western society, to show liberal democracy to be a sham and to invoke the persecution of Muslims. Yet that is the invariable response of the security industry to these incidents. Convinced of its potency, it dare not admit there are some things against which it cannot protect us. So when incidents occur it jerks the knee and demands ever more money and ever more power. It must not be given them.


Updated

The Eiffel Tower is to be lit up in the colours of the Belgian flag as a mark of solidarity, writes Oliver Milne.

Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, tweeted: “In solidarity with the people of Brussels, tonight Paris will light the Eiffel Tower in the colours of the Belgian flag.”

Updated

Sarah, who is locked down in one of the EU institution buildings on Rue Belliard, less than 500m from Maelbeek station, contacted us via WhatsApp.

She told us that a controlled explosion took place on Rue de la Loi very close to Maelbeek station.

The following video was taken 15 minutes after the initial explosion this morning at Maelbeek station.

If you’re in Brussels you can share your eyewitness accounts, photos and videos or news tips direct with our journalists by clicking on the blue button in the live blog.

You can also email, text, tweet, fill in our form or contact us on WhatsApp on +447867825056.

Please think about your security first when recording and sharing your content.

Updated

Police patrols at Manchester airport have been stepped up as a precaution. In a statement Manchester’s assistant chief constable John O’Hare said:

“There is no specific threat in Greater Manchester following the events this morning but we remain at a threat level of severe.

“We are working closely with Manchester airport to ensure that the appropriate response is in place and we have increased our patrols to support this.

“We will continue to review the situation and maintain our increased patrols in crowded areas, iconic locations and transport hubs.

“The events today in Brussels reinforce the need for us all to remain vigilant and report any concerns whilst continuing with normal daily life.”

Updated

The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michael, has condemned the attacks as “blind, violent and cowardly”.

He added: “We must face this challenge in solidarity, united, together.”

Updated

The federal prosecutor, Fredere Van Leeuw, confirmed that the attack at Zaventem airport was carried out by a suicide bomber but gave no details about the second blast, writes Oliver Milne.

“It is too early to discuss any more details about the attackers,” Van Leeuw told journalists at the press conference.

Updated

15 killed in metro blast

The metro operator STIB-MIVB has confirmed that 15 people were killed in the Maelbeek metro station blast.

Updated

Here’s video of passengers walking through a smoke-filled underground tunnel following an explosion at Maelbeek metro. At street level smoke can be seen rising from the underground.

Updated

Belgian PM: 'What we feared, has happened'

Belgium’s prime minister, Charles Michel, says terrorists have committed murder at the airport and the metro station.

“What we feared, has happened,” he said in a televised press conference.

He said it was too early to confirm casualty figures but said that there were “many dead, many injured”.

Michel confirmed that the attack at the airport was carried by a suicide bomber.

He also called for “calm and solidarity” after what he described as a “tragic moment”.

Updated

Small blasts, thought to be controlled explosions, have been heard close the Maelbeek metro. Local media said it appeared to be the work of the police bomb squad, Reuters reports.

Here’s video of a metro train being evacuated after the blast.

Brussels police have confirmed deaths at the Maelbeek metro station but they have not disclosed numbers, AP reports.

There are unconfirmed reports that 10 people were killed at the station.

Graphic images have emerged purporting to show at least one victim of the metro blast.

Updated

Here’s video of the aftermath of the blasts.

Mark Rowley
Mark Rowley Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Extra police are to be deployed at key locations in the UK, the Metropolitan police’s assistant commissioner Mark Rowley has announced.

Rowley, who is the national lead for counter-terrorism policing, said:

“As a precaution forces across the UK have increased policing presence at key locations, including transport hubs, to protect the public and provide reassurance. This is not in relation to any specific information or intelligence.

“In London specifically, the Metropolitan Police Service has mobilised additional officers, who will carry out highly visible patrols at key locations around the capital including the transport network. The number of officers deployed will be regularly assessed. These additional officers are deployed as part of reassurance measures.

“The police presence across London and the rest of the UK is constantly under review.

“We are in close liaison with the Belgium authorities and will continue to monitor the situation.

“The threat to the UK from international terrorism remains at severe as it has been since August 2014, meaning an attack is highly likely.

“We urge the public and businesses to be alert but not alarmed and report anything suspicious to the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321. In an emergency always call 999.”

Updated

France is to deploy an extra 1,600 police at its borders following the Brussels attack, interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve has announced.

“It is essential to maintain a vigilance,” he said in a televised address.

Updated

Broken windows seen at the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport
Broken windows seen at the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport. Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters
Belgian police and emergency staff arriving in the Wetstraat - Rue de la Loi, which has been evacuated after an explosion at the Maelbeek metro station
Belgian police and emergency staff arriving in the Wetstraat-rue de la Loi, which has been evacuated after an explosion at the Maelbeek metro station. Photograph: Laurie Dieffembacq/AFP/Getty Images
A victim receives first aid by rescuers near Maalbeek metro station.
A victim receives first aid by rescuers near Maalbeek metro station. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
People react outside Zavantem airport.
People react outside Zavantem airport. Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP

Updated

The visible police presence at London’s Heathrow airport has been stepped up, the airport has announced.

In statement a spokesman said:

“We take the safety and security of our passengers and colleagues very seriously. In the light of events in Brussels airport, we are working with the police at Heathrow who are providing a high visibility presence. We expect flights to Brussels airport to be affected and ask passengers travelling there to check their flight status with their airline.”

Updated

Donald Tusk
Donald Tusk Photograph: Xinhua / Barcroft Media

European council president Donald Tusk said the Brussels attacks “mark another low by the terrorists”.

In a statement he said:

I am appalled by the bombings this morning at Zaventem airport and the European district in Brussels which have cost several innocent lives and injured many others.

I extend my sincerest sympathies to the relatives and friends of the victims. These attacks mark another low by the terrorists in the service of hatred and violence.

The European institutions are hosted in Brussels thanks to the generosity of Belgium’s government and its people. The European Union returns this solidarity now and will fulfill its role to help Brussels, Belgium and Europe as a whole counter the terror threat which we are all facing.

Updated

There is confusion about the death toll at the Maelbeek metro station close to EU offices.

Earlier the public broadcaster VTM said 10 people were killed. But another broadcaster VRT has since reported that no one was killed in that explosion.

Passengers were injured in the blast, AP reports.

Rescue workers set up a makeshift treatment centre in a pub. Dazed and shocked morning travellers streamed from the metro entrances as police tried to set up a security cordon.

“The metro was leaving Maelbeek station for Schuman when there was a really loud explosion,” said Alexandre Brans, 32, wiping blood from his face. “It was panic everywhere. There were a lot of people in the metro.”

Françoise Ledune, a spokeswoman for the Brussels Metro, said on BFM television that there appeared to have been just one explosion, in a car that was stopped at Maelbeek.

First responders ran through the street outside with two people on stretchers, their clothes badly torn.

Updated

Belgium’s federal prosecutor has confirmed that the explosions at Brussels airport were carried out by a suicide bomber, according to broadcasters VTM and RTBF reported.

All trains to Brussels stations from Paris have been cancelled, writes Angelique Chrisafis.

At Paris’s Gare du Nord station scores of passengers on a morning Thalys train ready to depart for Brussels were told to get off the train and that all international departures to Belgium had been suspended.

Were the apparent attacks revenge for Salah Abdeslam’s arrest, asks Jason Burke.

Any threat from Islamic militants to Europe may rise and fall, but does not disappear when a single figure is arrested, however much he was sought. The “major blow” struck on Friday, as senior policymakers called it, now looks less major.

Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam shot and arrested in Brussels Read more

The second is that both terrorists and those trying to stop them seek to keep the initiative. This has a practical and a psychological aspect. For counter-terrorism agencies, the aim is to get information fast enough to mount raids and sweep up suspects before they even have time to work out who among them has been picked up and who might have talked, let alone plan a new strike. Networks quickly fall apart under such relentless pressure, as was shown in Iraq in the middle of the last decade.

For the terrorists, the aim is to show they can still terrorise, mobilise and polarise with violence. This is not so much about revenge, but simply demonstrating a continued capability. They may be down but, they are saying, they are not out.

Updated

American Airlines said all of its employees and contractors are accounted for after the blast at the airport departure hall.

Here’s an aerial view of the blast site.

Aerial view of Brussels airport

There’s been some bitter reaction to the attacks in Russia, writes Shaun Walker.

The chair of the Duma’s foreign policy committee, Alexei Pushkov, tweeted: “While [Nato chief Jens] Stoltenberg, is busy fighting the imaginary ‘Russian threat’ and putting troops in Latvia, under his nose in Brussels people are blown up.”

And more Russian schadenfreude came from foreign ministryspokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who reportedly said: “You can’t support terrorists in one part of the globe and not expect them to appear in others.”

Updated

Belgium’s prime minister, Charles Michel, has warned the Belgian public to “avoid any movement” for the time being.

Reinforcements have arrived at Michel’s office.

Updated

Brussels airport will stay closed until 6am on Wednesday.

Updated

Eurostar in London has suspended trains to and from Brussels Midi station.

Updated

Martin Schulz, president of the European parliament, has condemned what he described as “heinous attacks”.

Updated

This aerial view shows how close the metro blast was to the EU buildings in Brussels.

Brussels aerial view
Brussels aerial view

There are unconfirmed reports that 23 people have been killed in both attacks.

The Belgian broadcaster VTM said 10 people were killed in the blast at the Maelbeek metro station. Earlier, it said the death toll at the Zaventem airport in Brussels had risen to 13.

Brussels blasts
Brussels blasts

Updated

British counter-terrorism officials are watching events in Brussels as the government’s emergency committee prepares to meet, writes Vikram Dodd.

The United Kingdom threat level remains at severe, the second highest level. It means security officials assess an attack on the UK is highly likely. The UK threat level assessment is made by the joint terrorism assessment centre, which sits within MI5.

How the terrorists carried out their attacks and tactics, especially any change in tactics , will be of interest to security officials across parts of the world facing a terrorist threat.

Past attacks in Europe, for instance last November’s assault on Paris, led UK police to review the threat level. Then they left it at severe.

Updated

You can share your eyewitness accounts, photos and videos or news tips direct with our journalists by clicking on the blue button in the live blog.

You can also email, text, tweet, fill in our form or contact us on WhatsApp on +447867825056.

Please think about your security first when recording and sharing your content.

Updated

Report: 10 dead in metro blast

The Belgian broadcaster VTM says 10 people were killed in the blast at the Maelbeek station. The station is about 500 metres from the EU buildings.

Updated

Michael Ryan, head of the EU delegation to Rwanda, said he felt the Maelbeek metro blast in the next station.

The European commission has locked down its staff after the apparent attacks.

Kristalina Georgieva, the EU’s vice-president in charge of personnel, has told staff to stay inside.

Updated

Cobra to meet

David Cameron is to chair a meeting of the UK government’s emergency committee, Cobra, following the Brussels attacks.

Earlier, the prime minister expressed his shock and concern.

Updated

The death toll at the Zaventem airport in Brussels has increased to 13, according to the Belgian broadcaster VRT, with a further 35 people severely injured, Reuters reports.

Updated

An image appeared on twitter of passengers being evacuated from a train after the blast at Maelbeek metro station.

The scene in a tunnel near Maelbeek metro station in Brussels, Belgium
The scene in a tunnel near Maelbeek metro station in Brussels, Belgium Photograph: @evanlamos/PA

Updated

Brussels is in lockdown. The metro stations and airport have been closed. And now the city’s museums are also reported to have been shut.

Updated

Airport attack blamed on suicide bomber

The Belgian broadcaster VRT says the Brussels airport explosion was a suicide attack, Reuters reports. This is unconfirmed at this stage.

Updated

'Several injured' in metro station blast

Several people were injured in the explosion at Maelbeek metro station, AP reports.

Here’s video of the aftermath of that blast.

Metro blast

Updated

David Cameron expresses shock and concern

David Cameron has expressed his shock and concern.

Other world leaders have tweeted similar sentiments.

Sky News has the latest video from the metro station blast and the explosions at the airport.

According to French media reports, there were two explosions minutes apart just before 8am at Brussels airport – one in the departures area and one on or near the runway, writes Angelique Chrisafis.

A false ceiling collapsed, causing lots of dust and smoke.

The departures area had easy access to the public, but the runway area would have been closed to public access and raises questions about how the explosion could have happened there.

Updated

Hospital source says 10 dead

The Belgian broadcaster RTBF says up to 10 people were killed and 30 wounded in the airport explosions. It cited a hospital source for the figures, according to Reuters.

Metro system closed

The entire metro system in Brussels has been closed.

Updated

Reports of metro station blast.

There are unconfirmed reports of an attack at a Brussels metro station close to the EU buildings at Maelbeek.

Updated

Extraordinary video has emerged of the aftermath of the airport blast.

Updated

Here’s where the blasts took place.

Belgium airport map

Belgium PM 'following minute-by-minute'

Belgium’s prime minister, Charles Michel, says his government is monitoring the situation minute-by-minute. In a tweet he said the “top priority” was the victims of the blasts.

Updated

Le Soir confirms the terror alert level has been increased to the maximum of four.

Updated

The Belgian government has put the country on the highest alert level following the explosions, according to a reporter for the Belga news agency.

Updated

Police confirm one dead

Belgium police have confirmed that at least one person was killed in the explosion, AP reports.

“One person has died and perhaps there are several more,” a police official said.

Updated

The Belgian news agency Belga said shots were fired and there were shouts in Arabic shortly before the explosions, Reuters reports.

It provides this context:

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.

Salah Abdeslam, the prime surviving suspect for November’s Paris attacks on a stadium, cafes and a concert hall, was captured by Belgian police after a shootout on Friday.

Belgium’s interior minister, Jan Jambon, said on Monday the country was on high alert for a possible revenge attack following the capture of 26-year-old Abdeslam.

“We know that stopping one cell can ... push others into action. We are aware of it in this case,” he told public radio.

French investigator François Molins told a news conference in Paris on Saturday that Abdeslam, a French citizen born and raised in Brussels, admitted to investigators he had wanted to blow himself up along with others at the Stade de France on the night of the attack claimed by Islamic State; but he later backed out.

Updated

The explosion is reported to have taken place at the American Airlines area of the departure hall.

Pictures are emerging from Brussels airport

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.
.
.

Brussels airport has been closed and flights have been cancelled.

There are unconfirmed reports that 11 people have been killed in the blasts.

A local journalist cited firefighters for the death toll of 11. The Belgian news agency Belga said one person was killed and several injured.

Graphic images have emerged showing some of those injured in the blasts.

Updated

Brussels airport has confirmed there have been two explosions and that the airport has been evacuated. It also warned people to stay away from the area.

Updated

Opening summary

Welcome to our live coverage of the aftermath of two explosions at Brussels airport.

At this stage details are sketchy and the cause of the explosions is not clear.

Belgian media said several people were injured.

Video from the scene showed people running from the airport as smoke rose from the building.

Rail traffic to the airport has been suspended and planes are being prevented from landing.

Updated

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