Brussels Terrorists Attack - My Experience

When I look back at what happened last Tuesday (22nd March 2016), it feels almost like watching a movie, but during the event I was shaken to the core.

My wife Ashuwini and our little one Yukta were scheduled to travel to India on 22nd March 2016 from Brussels airport. Since we don’t live in Brussels itself, but about 60km away in Ghent, we had to leave early in the morning. We woke up at 4am to catch the first bus to Ghent St-Pieters station, where we hopped on the 6am train to the airport. We arrived there at about 7am.

Everything went smoothly. We checked in our luggage with Etihad and got our boarding passes. We were on our way to the security check, when Yukta decided she needed to pee J So we took care of her emergency and after some tantrums, we finally reached the security check. As I was saying farewell to my wife and daughter, a policeman with a dog was checking the dustbins close to us and found nothing suspicious. My wife and my daughter then walked off towards the security check and I looked at my phone to see when I could catch my train back to Ghent. That very moment a loud BOOM echoed around us. It was 8 in the morning.

I looked at my family. Surprisingly, we were all unhurt.

We were saved from the explosion by a wall - it felt as if that wall was a god at that time! We could see the blast of the explosion, a lot of dust in the air and some pieces of ceiling falling down, but we were unhurt. The blast happened only steps away from the place where we were only 5 minutes ago, the toilets.

All the people around us started to run, some had blood on them, there were many old people, some people were with children like us. The police were everywhere with guns in their hands. All the security check doors immediately opened and everyone was moved to another place.

Before the explosion, many people were sipping their coffee, strolling around the airport, checking-in or saying goodbye to their relatives and friends. After the attack, people just ran without thinking about their luggage. Many of them left their cabin baggage and even their handbags lying at the airport, thus a lot of people did not have their passports, tickets or mobile phones on them. A lot of people were crying, not just children, adults too. Many were in a state of shock, while some were taking photographs and video recordings.

The staff at the Brussels airport were quick to react, efficient and friendly. At first they moved us to an open area inside the airport and then at about 9am to an airplane hangar. They provided us with chairs and benches, water and juice. They distributed blankets and later offered food as well (though not everyone received the food packets). They also provided some newspapers and magazines for people to keep them busy.

It was disheartening to see that when authorities were taking such efforts to take care of people’s basic needs, some people were demanding wine and beer.

We Indians have a tendency to carry a lot of luggage when we travel, especially food. With the little one and a long journey ahead, my wife and I had prepared some methi parathe (Indian bread with fenugreek leaves), Chili pickle, chips, cookies and chocolates. Since we had so much food with us, being hungry was not a problem. In fact, we even helped a woman who had diabetes, as she needed to eat something. She was in transit at Brussels on her way from India to New York.

There were constant updates on the situation. We heard of the second attack at the metro station and the consequent shut down of the entire city transport network. Around noon we were told that there would be buses to the local Zaventem train station and from there trains to Leuven, a town about 25km east of Brussels.

While we waited, we helped some people who were in transit to connect with their families, as they did not have a Belgian telephone number and there was not internet at the airport hangar. Luckily, they could contact their families through WhatsApp.

Around 2.30pm we could finally leave the airport and head to the train station. To get there we first took a bus that was escorted by a police van and motorbikes on both sides. Once at the train station, we boarded a train to Leuven, where we changed for Ghent and finally arrived home around 06.30 that evening.

It was a very long and exhausting day. A day that we will never forget. A day that showed us how pain can look like, how close we are to losing those we love. We were the lucky ones, we narrowly escaped a big tragedy that will remain etched in the minds of Belgians and many other people around the world.

We thank our friends and relatives for their prayers and affection that have saved us.