news

Brussels Airport explosions: Witnesses describe moments of chaos after blasts.

By: ABC News. 

Victims lay in pools of blood as the smoke cleared to reveal a scene of horror after twin explosions ripped through the main terminal at Brussels Airport, witnesses said.

The blasts smashed the windows of the departure hall and sent ceiling tiles shattering to the floor.

“A man shouted a few words in Arabic and then I heard a huge blast,” airport baggage security officer Alphonse Lyoura, who still had blood on his hands following the explosion, told AFP.

He said there was another explosion about two minutes later.

“I helped at least six or seven wounded people. We took out some bodies that were not moving. It was total panic everywhere,” Mr Lyoura said.

“I saw people lying on the ground covered in blood who were not moving.

“At least six or seven people’s legs were totally crushed. A lot of people lost limbs.

“One man had lost both legs and there was a policeman with a totally mangled leg.”

Witness and Belgian David Crunelle, 36, was at the airport to catch a flight to Japan.

“An explosion happened in the terminal for the US departures. I think it was American Airlines terminal. Two explosions, [with] like two or three seconds between the two explosions. Everything went dark,” he told 7.30.

“There was a lot of people injured. Instantly, everybody, they started screaming and crying a lot, exiting — the people from the airport and from the airline companies — everybody went out without knowing what to do but it went well.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Another witness, Peter Presnell, said his plane landed on the tarmac at Brussels airport just as the explosions went off.

“When we first got here, they advised us that there was an explosion in the terminal and then they subsequently advised that there were two bombs had detonated inside the terminal,” he told the ABC.

“We could see the people being evacuated from the building and plus we could see a little bit of smoke rising above the terminal area as well.”

Another witness, Jean-Pierre Herman, met his wife at the airport, having gone to collect her after her flight arrived from Thailand.

“My wife just arrived,” Mr Herman told AFP.

“I said hello, we took the elevator and in the elevator we heard the first bomb.

“The second exploded just when we got off. We ran away to an emergency exit. I think we are very lucky.”

British journalist Charlotte McDonald-Gibson, who lives in Brussels, said there had been “total confusion” at the airport, where she was having breakfast before a flight.

“Suddenly staff rushed in and said we have to leave,” she said.

“They rushed out and into the main terminal A departures building. Nobody knew what was going on.”

This post originally appeared on ABC News.

 © 2015 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. Read the ABC Disclaimer here