Brussels explosion sees ‘suicide bomber blow himself up’ at Central Station as he is shot by troops while threatening terrified train passengers

The suspect was said to be wearing a rucksack packed with explosives around Belgium's busiest railway station

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AN EXPLOSION rocked Brussels Central station after a suspected suicide bomber detonated his explosives before being shot dead by troops.

Belgian soldiers and police patrolling the station swooped in to “neutralise” the man, who was threatening civilians, according to an investigating source.

Twitter/remybonnaffe 19 Brussels Central station has been evacuated amid reports of an explosion – this unverified picture posted on Twitter purports to show the suspected explosion

Rex Features 19 Soldiers raced to the scene after reports of a small explosion inside the major terminal

Getty Images 19 People are assisted under the cordon as they are evacuated from the station

AP:Associated Press 19 Belgian police stand in front of a police cordon as people are evacuated at the Grand Place square near Central Station

Smoke fills Brussels Central Station after small explosion

Getty Images 19 A soldier stands armed with his gun close to the cordon at Brussels Central train station tonight

AP:Associated Press 19 Police officials and soldiers stand alert in a cordoned off area outside Gare Centrale in Brussels

Twitter/Amichai Stein 19 Soldiers can be seen outside the Brussels Central train station after reports a man with an explosives belt was shot by army

Sudden panic in Grand Place after small explosion in Brussels Central Station

The suspect was said to be wearing a rucksack packed with explosives around Belgium's busiest railway station.

The attacker was "shot several times" by troops after "he triggered a device" shortly after 8pm, according to a source.

Prosecutors said the attacker was killed in the confrontation but his body had bene left lying inside the station for several hours over fears he could be carrying explosives.

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Prosecutor's spokeswoman Ine Van Wymersch said authorities were only able to confirm he had died after a bomb squad had carried out an investigation.

The incident is being treated as a terrorist attack, federal prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt said.

Local media quoted the Brussels prosecutor's office as saying the suspect was wearing a backpack and an explosive belt.

Social media images showed an intense yet contained ball of fire in a nearly empty underground arrival hall.

Getty Images 19 A Belgian soldier remains on guard after a terror attack at Brussels central station

Getty Images 19 Armed police stand guard after a suspected suicide bomber was shot by soldiers inside the station

Rex Features 19 The station has been sealed off while police carry out an investigation into what they have described as a terrorist incident

AP:Associated Press 19 Belgian Army soldiers patrol near the station after the terrorist incident earlier this evening

Getty Images 19 Belgium's national crisis said the suspect had been "neutralised" and the situation was under control

Getty Images 19 Brussels prosecutor's office says there appears to be no civilian injuries or deaths from the explosion

Getty Images 19 Passengers are seen being evacuated from the square close to the station, where a suspected suicide bomber detonated a device

Getty Images 19 A police officer sets up a cordon around the station where people had been enjoying their evening

19 Police officers speak on the street outside Belgium's busiest station, which was the scene of a suspected terror attack tonight

19 A soldier stands guard close to the scene of the attack, which is not thought to have injured anyone else

Heavy army and police presence after troops surround Brussels Central Station after blast

Dozens of police cars could be seen outside the station tonight as the square outside was evacuated and a cordon put in place.

Passengers reported being told to leave the station and evacuated to a nearby restaurant.

Nicolas Van Herrewegen, a railway sorting agent, told AFP news agency he had gone down to the station's mezzanine level when he heard someone shouting.

He said: "He cried 'Allahu Akbar', and he blew up a wheeled suitcase.

"I was behind a wall when it exploded.

"I went down and alerted my colleagues to evacuate everyone. He (the suspect) was still around but after that we didn't see him."

He added: "It wasn't exactly a big explosion but the impact was pretty big. People were running away."

He described the suspect as well-built and tanned with short hair, wearing a white shirt and jeans.

The witness said: "I saw that he had something on him because I could see wires emerging, so it may have been a suicide vest."

After reports of the blast were heard, a witness told RTL: "People are running everywhere."

Another told the broadcaster: "Panic in the Gare Centrale. Shots heard."

Arnaud Reyman, spokesman for Infrabel, the Belgian railway operator, said: "A crowd panicked in the station and ran for the tracks after an incident."

Officers have confirmed that no one else was injured or killed in the explosion.

Getty Images 19 Soldiers patrolling the station were able to 'neutralise' the suspect after he reportedly detonated an explosive device

AP:Associated Press 19 Police raced to the scene after reports of a 'small explosion' inside the station on Tuesday night

Police have 'neutralised' a person wearing an explosive belt at Brussels Central Station

The Belgian capital's Grand Place, a major tourist site filled with restaurants and shops, was evacuated along with the station about 200m (656 feet) away.

Brussels has been on high alert since Islamic State suicide bombers struck the city's airport and metro in March 2016, killing 32 people and injuring hundreds more.

The Islamic State group claimed the attacks, which were carried out by the same jihadist cell behind the November 2016 Paris attacks that killed 130 people.

Soldiers have been deployed at railway stations, government buildings and European Union institutions in Brussels since the aftermath of the Paris attacks when a link to Belgium was first established.

Belgium suffered a further shock last August when a machete-wielding man shouting "Allahu akbar" attacked two policewomen in the industrial town of Charleroi, before being shot dead.

The country's law enforcement agencies and intelligence services came under intense scrutiny after the attacks for apparently missing a series of leads after the Paris attacks that could have led to the Brussels bombers.

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