Brussels Metro Explosions: 15 Reported Dead In Deadly Blasts As City On Shutdown

UPDATE: 6:55 a.m. EDT — According to local media reports, the Belgian transport operator STIB has confirmed that 15 people have been killed in the attacks at the Maalbeek station, while 10 people have died in the blasts at the airport. In total 55 people have been reportedly injured with 10 of them in a critical condition.

Original Story:

Local media reports suggest up to 10 people have been killed in two blasts at Brussels metro stations, leading to all public transport systems being shut down, including metros, buses and trams. The move came after two separate bomb blasts had left over a dozen dead at the Brussels airport.

It is unclear at the moment how many casualties have resulted from the metro station explosions — first at Maalbeek Metro station and shortly afterwards at the nearby Schumaan metro station. However, local media reports suggest that up to 10 people have been killed, while Agence France-Presse is reporting that at least 15 have been injured in the attacks.

Belgian authorities have warned everyone in the city to remain where they are as the Belgium's interior minister said the country's terror level would be raised to its maximum level.

First reports of the blast at Maalbeek Metro station came just after 9 a.m. local time (4 a.m. EDT) — within an hour of a double explosion at Zaventem Airport — with the latest reports claiming up to 13 people have been killed with 35 injured in the attacks.

“The metro was leaving Maelbeek subway station when there was a really loud explosion. It was panic everywhere. There were a lot of people in the metro,” a man named Alexandre Brans, who was in the Metro when the blast happened, told the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, the Brussels transportation authority has closed all metro stations in the wake of the attacks, and has also announced that buses and trams won't be stopped. Eurostar has also announced that it has suspended all trains to and from Brussels.

On Friday, Belgian police had arrested Salah Abdeslam, a prime suspect in November’s terror attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead, in Brussels. After interrogating the 26-year-old French national, Belgian officials said Abdeslam had a network in Brussels and was planning more attacks.