:00:15. > :00:17.Terror strikes in the heart of Belgium.
:00:18. > :00:20.At least 31 people are dead and dozens more injured in a series
:00:21. > :00:28.Two blasts ripped through the city's airport soon after eight
:00:29. > :00:39.This was the scene in the departure hall just moments afterwards.
:00:40. > :00:42.I heard a gunshot and what sounded like Arabic, then I heard boom,
:00:43. > :01:00.An hour later at least 20 people were killed when a third bomb went
:01:01. > :01:05.off on an underground train during the rush hour.
:01:06. > :01:09.Are these the men responsible for the carnage?
:01:10. > :01:12.The Belgian authorities are hunting the man wearing a hat on the right
:01:13. > :01:20.The other two are thought to have blown themselves up.
:01:21. > :01:23.Belgian's Prime Minister says it's a "black moment" for his country,
:01:24. > :01:28.as the so-called Islamic State claims responsibility.
:01:29. > :01:31.President Obama and the British Prime Minister are among world
:01:32. > :01:38.These were attacks in Belgium, they could just be attacks,
:01:39. > :01:42.just as well be attacks in Britain, or France or Germany
:01:43. > :01:48.In Paris tonight the Eiffel Tower is lit up in the colours
:01:49. > :01:52.of the Belgian flag, while in Rome, the Trevi Fountain is also shining
:01:53. > :02:22.in red, yellow and black, in solidarity with the victims.
:02:23. > :02:30.Good evening, I am here live outside Brussels International Airport Wales
:02:31. > :02:36.Today's attacks began with two explosions killing at least 11
:02:37. > :02:41.people and injuring dozens of others. Then about an hour later
:02:42. > :02:49.there was an attack on the Brussels metal at the heart of the city.
:02:50. > :02:53.Tonight there is a series of police raids in operation in Brussels as
:02:54. > :02:57.police and security forces try to find accomplices of those who
:02:58. > :03:00.carried out today's attacks. The king of Belgium has just been
:03:01. > :03:08.speaking and we will bring you that in just a moment. Let's first recap
:03:09. > :03:14.the day's events as we have them. They were a series of bomb attacks
:03:15. > :03:20.in Brussels today and they began at Brussels airport this morning at
:03:21. > :03:26.around 8am local time. A very busy time at the airport and at least 11
:03:27. > :03:33.people dry, one explosion and then others ran from that explosion
:03:34. > :03:38.towards the exits and there was a second explosion killing many
:03:39. > :03:47.others. Then around an hour later there was a explosion on the
:03:48. > :03:52.Brussels Metro at the heart of the city. It was rush-hour and at least
:03:53. > :04:02.20 people were killed and many others injured. The devastating
:04:03. > :04:07.attacks today have come just four days after the arrest of 26 she
:04:08. > :04:14.ruled Salah Abdeslam, the man wanted in connection with the Paris terror
:04:15. > :04:22.attacks that left many dead and it is. Today's -- today's attacks could
:04:23. > :04:28.be a response to the arrest, or even fears among his accomplices that the
:04:29. > :04:32.police services may be onto him. Let's hear no from the King of
:04:33. > :04:37.Belgium who has been talking to his people and a special address.
:04:38. > :04:44.For each one of us, 22nd March will no longer be a day
:04:45. > :04:48.The broken lives, the deep wounds, our whole country bears this
:04:49. > :04:58.The Queen and I share your pain - you, who have lost someone
:04:59. > :05:00.close to you, or who have been
:05:01. > :05:02.injured by the cowardly and despicable attacks today.
:05:03. > :05:04.We give our support to the members of the emergency
:05:05. > :05:14.Our gratitude also goes to all those who offer their help spontaneously.
:05:15. > :05:17.As for the threat we face, we will continue to respond together
:05:18. > :05:39.That was the king of Belgium talking to his people a short time ago and
:05:40. > :05:44.we also heard from the Belgian Prime Minister who said today's backpacks
:05:45. > :05:50.were violent and cowardly. He said this was a black day for Belgium and
:05:51. > :05:56.Barack Obama has condemned the attacks as cowardly and odious. The
:05:57. > :06:02.security threat level has been raised even further from the levels
:06:03. > :06:04.of the yet was previously. There had been a series of police raids
:06:05. > :06:12.throughout the day in response to what happened and also the police
:06:13. > :06:17.have issued an arrest notice for one of the men seen on CCTV footage
:06:18. > :06:21.entering the airport building early today pushing trolleys. One of those
:06:22. > :06:27.men is believed to have survived and the other two have blown themselves
:06:28. > :06:30.up and dry but one is not to be on the run. Let's get a report on the
:06:31. > :06:47.day's horrific events. When a shaky voice tries to sound
:06:48. > :06:51.reassuring. When a shaky voice tries to sound
:06:52. > :06:54.reassuring, crying out from clouds of smoke that it is OK,
:06:55. > :06:57.out of the debris of devastation, Seconds before this mobile phone
:06:58. > :07:03.footage was filmed, these suitcases were in the firm grasp of crowds
:07:04. > :07:06.of travellers, queueing A busy morning for businessmen
:07:07. > :07:32.and women and families setting off This evening Belgian police released
:07:33. > :07:34.this from an airport CCTV camera. This man is a key suspect, they
:07:35. > :07:34.said. Just past 8am, they set
:07:35. > :07:36.of twin explosions here. At least one of them was detonated
:07:37. > :07:39.by a suicide bomber, Watch this father grab his infant
:07:40. > :07:47.before running for cover. Bags and belongings no longer
:07:48. > :07:53.held any importance, just their nearest and dearest
:07:54. > :07:58.and their own lives. And then there were
:07:59. > :08:02.the selfless and the brave. This man is a baggage handler
:08:03. > :08:11.at Brussels airport. TRANSLATION: I heard a gunshot
:08:12. > :08:14.and what sounded like Arabic. Then I heard, boom,
:08:15. > :08:19.an enormous explosion. Afterwards, people ran
:08:20. > :08:26.to the lift of the escalators. Two old people who came
:08:27. > :08:28.towards me, I saved them. I put them in the lift
:08:29. > :08:32.but they did not want to let I could not take them with me,
:08:33. > :08:37.there were too many people there. An incident has just
:08:38. > :08:40.occurred on the line... While he was saving lives,
:08:41. > :08:42.elsewhere in the city, another group of bombers
:08:43. > :08:55.was trying to take them. A nightmare come true
:08:56. > :08:59.for every train traveller. People here were in between Metro
:09:00. > :09:02.stops when a bomb went off Panicked survivors had
:09:03. > :09:07.to pick their way Only once they had clambered back
:09:08. > :09:18.to daylight did the horror I saw an explosion,
:09:19. > :09:33.a flash of light. The windows came in,
:09:34. > :09:38.the doors opened, and everybody The dazed and the injured
:09:39. > :09:49.covered the pavements here, usually trodden by stiffly
:09:50. > :09:55.dressed civil stunts. This bombing took place
:09:56. > :09:57.near European Union headquarters, minutes from the
:09:58. > :09:58.European Parliament. Brussels has turned into a city
:09:59. > :10:13.of sirens and a centre of fear. Unconfirmed reports
:10:14. > :10:14.of casualties there are Questions for Belgium's security
:10:15. > :10:23.apparatus, supposedly on high alert after perpetrators of last
:10:24. > :10:27.year's Paris attacks So-called Islamic State says it
:10:28. > :10:32.masterminded the attacks The presumed message
:10:33. > :10:38.from the bombers today - no-one is safe, not here,
:10:39. > :10:46.not anywhere in Europe. TRANSLATION: In this black
:10:47. > :10:48.moment for our country, now, more than ever,
:10:49. > :10:50.I call on everyone to show TRANSLATION: This attack has struck
:10:51. > :11:04.Belgium, but it was Europe We have to realise the gravity
:11:05. > :11:11.of this terrorist attack. Belgians are in no doubt
:11:12. > :11:13.as to the gravity of Similar to Paris, after the attacks
:11:14. > :11:18.there, people here in Brussels are determined not to give
:11:19. > :11:20.into terror, they say. When we found out about the news,
:11:21. > :11:38.our children were already at school. When they are not with you,
:11:39. > :11:40.you really are scared, especially as the attack
:11:41. > :11:43.was near our school. It was the airport and then
:11:44. > :11:46.the Metro and you do not I think people are ready
:11:47. > :11:49.for extreme measures, what ever it takes
:11:50. > :11:53.to keep people safe. This man told me he would walk
:11:54. > :11:56.everywhere from now on, He blamed the Belgian
:11:57. > :12:03.state for today's attack, for lack of intelligence, he said,
:12:04. > :12:07.and decisive action. As messages of support came
:12:08. > :12:09.in from around the world, the people of Brussels are gathering
:12:10. > :12:12.in the city centre this evening to show solidarity, support one
:12:13. > :12:37.another and pray for better times. we are here at Brussels
:12:38. > :12:41.International Airport being kept away, a crime scene with the huge
:12:42. > :12:51.investigation going underway with a big forensic search underway for any
:12:52. > :12:54.clues. It is thought that two of the three people seen entering the
:12:55. > :13:00.airport have been killed and a third is now on the run. Let's show you
:13:01. > :13:10.know the latest life pictures from Brussels city centre from Maelbeek
:13:11. > :13:15.station where so many people dry. At least 20 it
:13:16. > :13:22.station where so many people dry. At As many as 106 injured, many of them
:13:23. > :13:27.seriously. The airport death toll is thought to be 11 with 81 entered, so
:13:28. > :13:35.around about 200 injured altogether and today's attacks and 31 at least
:13:36. > :13:42.killed. You can see you're the scene, this is really a virtual and
:13:43. > :13:49.as was said, an opportunity for the people of Brussels to save the want
:13:50. > :13:53.to show solidarity and kill the terrorists just as after Paris they
:13:54. > :13:55.cannot wind, even if they strike at the very heart of Europe and of
:13:56. > :13:57.Belgium as it was today. Our correspondent Stephen Sackur
:13:58. > :14:07.is in Brussels city centre. He was actually in the city centre
:14:08. > :14:15.this morning when that attack on the Underground station happened. That
:14:16. > :14:19.is right, I wasn't very close because I was actually attending a
:14:20. > :14:25.conference just a short distance away, and it was extraordinary to
:14:26. > :14:27.see what happened, people on the smartphones got social media
:14:28. > :14:36.messages saying that had been a bomb attack and then a second attack, the
:14:37. > :14:39.room was filled with tension and consternation and as he went on to
:14:40. > :14:45.lock down it was quite a high-level meeting. The building was cloud off
:14:46. > :14:50.and surrounded by armed police and a few soldiers as well and for several
:14:51. > :14:53.hours nobody could get in or get out and there was just one indication of
:14:54. > :15:00.what has been happening in this city today. It has been a day of terror
:15:01. > :15:06.and chaos and heartache as has become clear that so many people,
:15:07. > :15:14.believed to be 31 but possibly higher, lost their lives. One at the
:15:15. > :15:19.airport and the one just a few hundred metres from where I am
:15:20. > :15:22.talking to you now in the Maelbeek Metro station. It is a very strange
:15:23. > :15:28.neighbourhood because it is full of official buildings but there is also
:15:29. > :15:32.a neighbourhood were the a lot of people who live in rather nice
:15:33. > :15:40.terraced houses, a very quiet neighbourhood. One of them who lives
:15:41. > :15:42.here I am going to introduce to you know, you are British citizen but
:15:43. > :15:49.you have lived in Brussels for the last 20 years. You happen to be very
:15:50. > :15:56.close to the scene of the Maelbeek bomb. Just tell me what you
:15:57. > :16:02.experienced. I left the square two minutes away from the Maelbeek
:16:03. > :16:08.station, it has three entrances. I came out of my house at about five
:16:09. > :16:15.past nine and I didn't hear an explosion but I could smell smoke.
:16:16. > :16:18.Immediately two police cars were racing by and the speed at which
:16:19. > :16:23.they were moving I knew they were responding something and as I was
:16:24. > :16:29.walking towards the station, I saw people streaming away from the
:16:30. > :16:34.station. Panic stricken. On their phones, text thing and running in
:16:35. > :16:37.disbelief and panic. Could you see any signs of injuries are
:16:38. > :16:44.casualties? There are only few people who came out not seriously
:16:45. > :16:51.quite bloody, one woman, her face was cut and they were in their 40s
:16:52. > :16:57.or 50s, very upset. Someone stopped a card on the road, a complete
:16:58. > :17:01.stranger, and asked to take her to the hospital and he obliged. The
:17:02. > :17:07.emergency services were just arriving. I am just wondering if you
:17:08. > :17:11.are able to stay long enough to see how quickly the security services,
:17:12. > :17:18.who have been on high alert, how quickly did they respond? They
:17:19. > :17:20.responded quickly. The place was locked down and I would say within
:17:21. > :17:26.ten minutes it was completely cordoned off. They work, and those
:17:27. > :17:30.in balaclavas and ambulances and police so they were pretty quick. I
:17:31. > :17:36.am interested to know how you have been feeling over the last few weeks
:17:37. > :17:41.because there has been so much focus on Brussels and we now know there
:17:42. > :17:46.has been some sort of network of activists, terrorists, who are based
:17:47. > :17:49.in Brussels, and so much security activity including Belgian and
:17:50. > :17:54.French forces in the city over the last few weeks, the bigger nest last
:17:55. > :18:03.Friday and now this. Have you been feeling apprehensive? Brussels is
:18:04. > :18:08.generally a very peaceful place. Anxiety is in everyone's mind at the
:18:09. > :18:14.moment, because you are kind of expecting something to happen, and
:18:15. > :18:17.with these terrorists being in Maelbeek apparently you felt
:18:18. > :18:21.something would happen and that it would happen it would happen in the
:18:22. > :18:25.European area, so there has been a certain amount of caution and
:18:26. > :18:34.anxiety. We have to leave it there but thank you for joining us. Really
:18:35. > :18:40.a very sad day for the people of this country. On that sombre note I
:18:41. > :18:45.will hand back to you at the airport.
:18:46. > :18:53.Thank you. I was here on Friday when Salah Abdeslam was arrested and it
:18:54. > :18:57.was interesting to see armed troops patrolling the streets of Brussels
:18:58. > :19:01.as they have been doing for weeks ever since the Palace attacks, so
:19:02. > :19:06.there was already a heightened sense of security around the city, and
:19:07. > :19:10.people were always fearful there would be an attack like the one we
:19:11. > :19:17.have seen today, but desperately hoping it wouldn't happen but today
:19:18. > :19:21.all the worst fears came true. It started here at Brussels
:19:22. > :19:25.International Airport, a really busy time of the day and people were
:19:26. > :19:30.coming in and going to check in for various flights around Europe, and
:19:31. > :19:35.there was an explosion and many of them ran towards the exit and then
:19:36. > :19:42.there was a second even bigger explosion and at least 11 we gather
:19:43. > :19:45.were killed. The suspects it is believed were seen entering the
:19:46. > :19:49.terminal building, two of them were killed and one may be on the run.
:19:50. > :19:52.Let's get this report from Ben Wright.
:19:53. > :19:54.They arrived here for holidays and work.
:19:55. > :19:59.As the shattered airport billowed smoke a survivors described
:20:00. > :20:14.Yes, I was, because we were in the one with all the glass
:20:15. > :20:17.So you saw glass falling down, and people were like
:20:18. > :20:23.You do not know where to run, so you go on the ground.
:20:24. > :20:26.The man who was with me was like looking, what is happening?
:20:27. > :20:31.All morning we saw fire crews and ambulances and the police coming
:20:32. > :20:37.Some of the injured were bussed away for treatment.
:20:38. > :20:39.It is about three hours after the explosions
:20:40. > :20:45.Emergency vehicles continue to go towards the terminal.
:20:46. > :20:48.There is a constant stream of people coming the other way,
:20:49. > :20:59.pulling bags - holiday-makers, commuters, airport workers,
:21:00. > :21:01.who had a Tuesday morning up-ended in terror and chaos.
:21:02. > :21:06.Can you tell me where you werewhat did you see?
:21:07. > :21:10.I had a dog and because of my dog, they said to me, go
:21:11. > :21:15.And there we were when it exploded behind us.
:21:16. > :21:24.If we were at the check-in, we exploded, too.
:21:25. > :21:33.Also at the airport were a basketball team from Antwerp
:21:34. > :21:41.You think it happens only in other countries but now it is in Belgium.
:21:42. > :21:46.We have to make the best of it and just stay calm,
:21:47. > :21:56.This woman and her family were heading to Venice for a cruise.
:21:57. > :22:14.Although suffering minor injuries, she is just relieved to be alive.
:22:15. > :22:16.planned to be far from here sat with their bags,
:22:17. > :22:50.As we were hearing earlier, the attack at the Metro station very
:22:51. > :22:53.close to European rain institutions. These attacks mark another low by
:22:54. > :22:55.the terrorists in the service of hatred and violence.
:22:56. > :22:58.Well, Dr Stephen Wright joins us down the line from our Leeds studio.
:22:59. > :23:02.He's an expert in commercial aviation at the University of Leeds.
:23:03. > :23:11.Thank you for being with us. Is there anything that airports like
:23:12. > :23:18.Brussels International Airport and other airports around the world can
:23:19. > :23:20.do to prevent an attack like this, a terrorists simply walking into the
:23:21. > :23:27.Department journey the up and setting off bombs. That is the $64
:23:28. > :23:31.million question, can we prevent this? The issue is that level of
:23:32. > :23:37.protection is driven by intelligence and the fact to events have
:23:38. > :23:43.transpired within 40 minutes of each other suggests that in this
:23:44. > :23:49.occurrence, intelligence just isn't there and it has not been possible
:23:50. > :24:00.for security services to offer that level of protection that perhaps we
:24:01. > :24:01.in the UK are more accustomed to. Would it have helped, some
:24:02. > :24:06.in the UK are more accustomed to. UC scanners and body checks before
:24:07. > :24:11.people go in. Is that a possibility that European airports should be
:24:12. > :24:15.considering? That is an interesting question. The problem I suspect is
:24:16. > :24:21.the European model was to have centralised transport hub so one
:24:22. > :24:25.would expect to more than European airports to have trains, buses,
:24:26. > :24:29.pedestrian access, car parking, and if you're going to start screening
:24:30. > :24:34.absolutely everybody that is going to enter, weird as the screening
:24:35. > :24:40.likely to take place? It doesn't quite fit the standard model, and I
:24:41. > :24:43.know it exists in other parts of the world but they don't have an
:24:44. > :24:49.international train station immediately underneath a brand-new
:24:50. > :24:56.terminal, so I do not think that is likely. In other words, there could
:24:57. > :25:01.be more attacks like today's attacks at airports anywhere in Europe or
:25:02. > :25:07.around the world? Potentially, that is always the less, but the risk is
:25:08. > :25:12.mitigated by heightened levels of security such as plainclothes
:25:13. > :25:16.officers, armed officers, the deployment of troops. These would-be
:25:17. > :25:20.items that perhaps we wouldn't naturally want to advertise but
:25:21. > :25:30.would the risk to a more acceptable level. This thank you for being with
:25:31. > :25:34.us, an aviation expert talking to us from Leeds. Let's bring you
:25:35. > :25:40.up-to-date with the latest information we have, if you are just
:25:41. > :25:45.joining us. In terms of the attack at the airport where I am, the death
:25:46. > :25:51.toll currently standing at 11 with some 81 injured and there were two
:25:52. > :25:56.explosions here, a third device was also found and made safe afterwords,
:25:57. > :26:03.a Kalashnikov rifle, and that Maelbeek station, 20 dead at least
:26:04. > :26:07.and 106 injured, so a deadly and horrific day at the heart of Europe
:26:08. > :26:09.in Brussels.