Empty streets and shuttered shops in tense Brussels

At the Gare du Midi train station in Brussels, a line of taxis awaits desperate travellers facing a city on lockdown, many from London or attack-hit Paris. The terror alert is at its highest in the Belgian capital following the Paris atrocities and the subsequent
raids that have targeted dozens of jihadist suspects from this city.

“Eighty euros in an hour, as much as yesterday!” said one driver, his smile at odds with the sombre atmosphere.

Brussels city closed its metro system and shopping centres after reports of an “imminent threat” of a gun and bomb attack similar to the horror seen in Paris last week which left at least 130 people dead.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said authorities feared a “Paris-style” attack “with explosives and weapons at several locations” despite the hundreds of soldiers patrolling the city, home to the EU and NATO.

Arriving at dawn by train on Saturday, many travellers stumbled upon a shuttered metro, likely to remain closed until at least Sunday afternoon.

“By order of the police, the station is closed,” 16-year-old Sarah, sporting a military jacket and a lip ring, read from a sign.

She said she had just arrived by train from Antwerp.

“I need to get back home, how am I supposed to do that now? There is no bus that can take me,” she said in frustration.


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