22 Mar 2016

Belgian police told AFP earlier today (March 22) that a blast at a metro station near the EU institutions caused deaths and injuries, without offering further details.

"There are wounded, There are dead. I don't know how many," a police officer told an AFP reporter as he escorted a woman away from the blast scene. A Belgian prosecutor in a statement confirmed the explosion at the Maalbeek metro station.

At least 21 people were reported to be dead in other explosions at the Brussels airport, firefighters told AFP

Meanwhile, the Netherlands stepped up security at national airports and train stations and tightened controls on the southern border with Belgium amid a series of blasts in Brussels.

"Out of precaution we are taking a number of additional measures in the Netherlands," the Dutch coordinator for terrorism and security said on its website.

"There means there will be extra police patrols at Schiphol, Rotterdam and Eindhoven and border controls on the southern border," it added. Justice Minister Ard Van der Steur also said the country would boost police at train stations, the Dutch news agency ANP reported.

Officials said they were watching the situation closely as a string of explosions at Brussels airport and metro left 13 dead, but offered reassurances saying "as yet there is no need to increase the threat level" in the country.

American Airlines said none of its employees were reported injured in the explosions that ripped through Brussels airport today. Unconfirmed reports on social media had said the blast took place near the American Airlines check-in counter at the airport in the Belgian capital.

The company would not comment on the reports, but said in a statement the airline was "taking care of our customers, employees and contractors." It said American Airlines Flight 751, due to have left Brussels Tuesday for Philadelphia, had been cancelled. AFP