Bomb blast on Brussel’s Grand Central Station; Belgian police “neutralize” man wearing explosive belt
Belgian police have 'neutralised' a man wearing an explosive belt in Brussel's Grand Central Station.
A
witness told Agence France Presse that the suspect shouted "Allahu
Akbar" before he was shot by soldiers who were on patrol at the time.
Security forces evacuated people from La Grande Place within seconds
following the incident.
La Grand Place is one
of the city's major tourist attractions and was full of people when the
incident occurred this evening. Witnesses took pictures of a fire in the
nearby Central Station. One witness said that people had panicked after
hearing the explosion and ran "in every direction".
Brussels Police tweeted about an "incident with an individual at Brussels Central station".
It said: "The situation is under control but please follow the instructions.”
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police spokesman said that asides the suspect, there were no other
casualties. He however did not clarify whether the suspect was still
alive after getting shot.
Arnaud Reyman, spokesman for rail network operator Infrabel confirmed the station was evacuated.
He said: "There was panic in the station and on the tracks after an incident."
Bart
Crols, a spokesman for the SNCN railway company, confirmed all rail
traffic in the city has been suspended after witnesses tweeted a picture
of a fire at Central Station.
A senior Belgian
law enforcement official told the Politico website that a crisis
meeting of top state officials was expected to start immediately.
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