Brussels: Panic gripped Brussels airport as two explosions ripped through the facility and a subway system, killing at least 13 people and leaving a trail of destruction.
Zach Mouzoun, who arrived on a flight from Geneva about 10 minutes before the first blast, told BFM television that the second, louder explosion brought down ceilings and ruptured pipes, mixing water with blood from victims.
“It was atrocious. The ceilings collapsed,” he said. “There was blood everywhere, injured people, bags everywhere. We were walking in the debris. It was a war scene,” he said.
Read: Terror attacks in Brussels airport, metro station leave 23 dead
All flights were cancelled, arriving planes were diverted and security was tightened at all Paris airports after the explosions that came just days after the prime suspect in the November Paris attacks was arrested in Brussels.
Belgium’s terror alert level was raised to maximum.
Read: Gatwick airport steps up security after Brussels attacks
Near the entrance to the Maelbeek subway station, not far from the headquarters of the European Union, rescue workers set up a makeshift treatment centre in a local 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 metro 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.”
Read: Timeline of recent terror attacks in Western Europe
First responders ran through the street outside with two people on stretchers, their clothes badly torn.
The explosions at the airport hit at the middle of the busiest time there. Smoke was seen billowing out of the terminal.
Amateur videos on France’s i-Tele television showed passengers, including a child with a backpack, dashing out of the terminal in different directions as they tugged luggage.
Another image showed a security officer patrolling inside a hall with blown-out paneling and what appeared to be ceiling insulation covering the floor.
“I knew it was an explosion because I’ve been around explosions before,” said Denise Brandt, an American woman interviewed by Sky television.
Read: World leaders condemn bombings in Brussels
“I felt the explosion, the way it feels through your body. And we just looked at each other and I said ‘Let’s go this way.’ It was over there. There was just this instinct to get away from it. Then we saw people running, crying, toward us. So I knew we were going in the right direction and away from it. “
With three runways in the shape of a “Z,” the airport connects Europe’s capital to 226 destinations around the world and handled nearly 23.5 million passengers in 2015.
Passengers were led onto the tarmac and the crisis centre urged people not to come to the airport.
The explosions took place only days after Salah Abdeslam, the prime suspect in the November 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 people, was arrested in Brussels.
Read: Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam arrested in Brussels
