BRUSSELS – Quebec actress Salome Corbo was just checking in at the Air Canada counter on Tuesday when the first blast rocked the Brussels airport.
In the ensuing chaos as she fled the scene, Corbo says she came close to where the second explosion went off.
“It was very spectacular,” she told Cogeco Nouvelles. “I was right near the second blast.
“I heard the first one, quickly tried to get away and the second one was nearby, right near me. I’ve had this buzzing in my ear I can’t get rid of.”
Corbo said she immediately realized it was a terrorist attack.
“We’re in Europe and it took a fraction of a second to come to terms with what had happened. A first explosion, you move. A second, it’s obvious it’s that (an attack) and you hurry up.”
The mayor of a Quebec town who was also in Brussels on Tuesday said he heard sirens of emergency vehicles blare for hours as the Belgian capital became a paralyzed city.
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Drummondville Mayor Alexandre Cusson and a colleague were headed to the Belgian federal parliament for meetings when they learned of the attacks at the city’s airport and subway, which together killed at least 31 people and wounded 187 others.
“We were at the hotel around 8:30 a.m. when we were informed about what happened,” he told The Canadian Press.
“The area became very busy and we heard the sounds of sirens and emergency vehicles for hours. Since then the public transport system, trains, buses, metro and the airport -nothing has been working. People are waiting hours to get taxis. It’s a paralyzed city.”
Cusson said officials from Quebec’s government office in Brussels contacted them to make sure they were safe.
“They strongly suggested we stay at the hotel all day,” he said. “So all of our meetings today were cancelled.”
Michel Audet, Quebec’s delegate-general in Brussels, said his employees were on their way to the office when the attacks occurred.
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“I had to do a head count and went about tracking down those who weren’t there,” he said in an interview.
Quebec’s delegation office is a short walk from the Maelbeek subway station, where the explosion occurred.
Audet said he was in contact with both the Quebec and Canadian governments and his office remained open to assist Quebecers on the ground in Brussels.
“Of course we are shaken by events but we’re continuing to do our job,” he said. “We have a responsibility toward Quebecers and to our daily activities.”
Audet said there will definitely be fallout from the attacks.
“Today, we’re in crisis-management mode, looking after victims and making sure people are OK but there will need to be psychological healing,” he said.
“This is a major emotional shock for many people. They will have to learn to take public transit, the metro, again.”
READ MORE: What Canadian travellers need to know about the Brussels attack
– With files from Magdaline Boutros in Montreal
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