At least 31 people are believed to have died in the series of explosions in Brussels on Tuesday morning, according to the latest reports.
There are reports of 11 deaths at the city’s Zaventem airport, while 20 more fatalities have been confirmed in the blast at Maalbeek Metro station.
https://twitter.com/Rwoods101/status/712280419690024961
Another 130 are reported to have been seriously injured in the explosions, for which Islamic State has since claimed responsibility.
Islamic State group claims responsibility for Brussels attacks in statement issued via its Amaq news agency https://t.co/n47DmaqnL9
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) March 22, 2016
Live updates and video starting to come in here – Brussels Zaventem airport and metro explosions 'kill at least 13'https://t.co/uJVKkHWHU5
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) March 22, 2016
Belgium’s deputy prime minister has advised that those looking to contact people in Brussels do so by messaging services, rather than phone calls.
IMPORTANT: Brussels mobile networks are getting saturated. Please contact through data messages: Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter. Avoid calls
— Alexander De Croo 🇧🇪🇪🇺 (@alexanderdecroo) March 22, 2016
Read more: Dramatic footage shows people fleeing the scene of the Zavantem Airport explosion.
Reports that a fourth explosion in the Rue de la Loi area of the city have also emerged, with Belgian media claiming a controlled explosion took place on a suspicious package.