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People react with horror online to Brussels attacks, posting video, photos

Explosions hit Brussels airport and Maelbeek subway station in the Belgian capital Tuesday, leading many to post their eyewitness accounts on social media.

Many people posted videos, photos and tweets about the Brussels attacks in Belgium

CBC News ·
The Brussels airport's ceiling collapsed following two explosions in the departure lounge, as seen in this photo taken by a Dutch journalist on NPO Radio 1. (Lammert de Bruin/Twitter)

Explosions hit Brussels airport and Maelbeek subway station in the Belgian capital on Tuesday, leading many to post their eyewitness accounts on social media.

Brussels airport was the scene of two explosions that blew apart a departure lounge, causing the ceiling to cave in. Photos show the windows shattered, while the inside is thick with smoke and dust. 

People ran from the airport after hearing explosions and seeing the smoke

Inside the airport, some posted images of injured people

People in the airport respond following the sudden explosions, as seen in this image taken by a journalist from the Georgian Public Broadcaster. (Ketevan Kardava/Facebook)
(Ketevan Kardava/Facebook)

Georgian journalist Ketevan Kardava was lining up for a flight to Geneva. She described something black and suitcase-shaped exploding in front of the Delta Airlines counter nearby. 

"Everything was broken," she told the Associated Press. "We were crying, shouting, running we didn't know where."

The scene remained chaotic after the explosions, with huge parts of a departure lounge destroyed

Close to the European Union headquarters is the Maelbeek metro station. People nearby described hearing a loud thud.

Dozens of injured people surfaced from the underground metro stop. Rescue workers established an impromptu treatment centre in a nearby pub.

Outside the station, Alexandre Brans, 32, wiped blood from his face. Close by, first responders ran through the street with two people on stretchers.
 
"It was panic everywhere," Brans told the Associated Press. "There were a lot of people in the metro."

Other metro trains were stopped because of the explosion

Soon, people were told to evacuate the subway between Art-Lois station and Maelbeek

Soldiers and emergency services poured in to clear the station and surrounding area, guiding people away

They set up a perimeter around the bombed metro station, as ambulances and helicopters continued to arrive 

Back at the airport, people were stuck waiting for a bus to help them leave

Meanwhile, in the rest of the city, some wrote messages in solidarity with the victims at Brussels airport and Maelbeek station 

Much like after the Paris attacks and the attack on Charlie Hebdo, people have begun tweeting #JeSuisBruxelles

The cartoon of France cradling Belgium in wake of the attack comes from the French newspaper Le Monde. It struck a chord with many in Europe. 

With files from The Associated Press

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