Officials Use Twitter to Spread Information, Share Condolences After Brussels Attacks

Only four months after terrorist attacks rocked Paris, professionals’ crisis communications were put to the test as terrorists hit Brussels.

On Tuesday morning, two explosions went off in the check-in area of Brussels Airport. Shortly after those attacks—at least one of which, Belgium’s federal prosecutor said, was likely caused by a suicide bomber—a third blast occurred at Maalbeek metro station. The station is near several European institutions.

The Guardian reported that Belgium’s health minister previously said 11 people died at Brussels Airport:

Maggie de Block, the Belgian health minister, confirmed that 11 people died and 81 were injured in the airport explosions, which the Belgian prosecutor said were caused by a suicide attack.

Belgian subway spokesman, Guy Sablon, told The Associated Press that 15 are dead and 55 wounded in the attack on Maalbeek station.

Brussels’ mayor later raised the death toll in the city’s subway explosions to 20, CTV News reported:

Mayor Yvan Majeur now says at least 20 people have died and 106 people were injured in the attack on the Maelbeek subway station, which is close to the European Union headquarters.

The New York Times reported that the current death toll is at least 34:

At least 34 people were killed—14 at the airport, and 20 at the subway station—and many more were wounded, including 92 at the airport and 106 at the subway station.

Though officials are still determining who was behind the attacks, some reports claim that the attacks are tied to Friday’s arrest of Salah Abdeslam—who, The Guardian reported, was the logistician for the Paris attacks.

For the rest, please click here.