Brussels Attacker Shouted In Arabic, I Carried Out 5 Dead People: Witness

Brussels: A suicide bomber blew himself up at Brussels airport on Tuesday killing at least 14 people and a further blast tore through a rush-hour metro train in the capital shortly afterwards, claiming 20 lives.

A witness said he heard shouts in Arabic shortly before two blasts struck the packed airport departure lounge. Pictures on social media showed smoke rising from the terminal building through shattered windows and passengers fleeing down a slipway, some still hauling their bags.

Alphonse Youla, 40, who works at the airport, said he heard a man shouting out in Arabic before the first explosion. "Then the glass ceiling of the airport collapsed."

"I helped carry out five people dead, their legs mangled," he said, his hands covered in blood.

Video showed devastation inside the departure hall with ceiling tiles and glass scattered across the floor. Some passengers emerged from the terminal with blood spattered over their clothes. Others sat wrapped with blankets.

A witness said the blasts occurred at a check-in desk.

All public transport in Brussels was shut down.  The  Belgian Crisis Centre, clearly wary of a further incident, appealed to the population: "Stay where you are".

The blasts at the airport and metro station occurred four days after the arrest in Brussels of a suspected participant in November