Vancouver school group on trip in Belgium safe following Brussels terror attacks

A Vancouver School group that was on a trip to Europe is safe following the terror attacks in Brussels.

The group of 23 students and three chaperons from Sir Charles Tupper Secondary were in Ghent, Belgium, at the time of the attacks. Ghent is about a one hour drive away by car from Brussels.

The Vancouver School District says chaperons are staying in close contact with parents to keep them informed and district staff are in regular contact with the chaperons.

The tour operator, Education First, said the group spent the first part of the trip in Paris and had transferred on Monday via bus to a hotel in Ghent, where they stayed the night. They had planned to visit Bruges and Ghent today before making their way back to Brussels, but have now been rerouted back to Paris from Ghent.

They will spend tonight in Paris and return to Vancouver on Wednesday.

Education First says it has other groups who were scheduled to go to Brussels in the coming days and they are being rerouted.

Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and its subway system Tuesday, killing at least 31 people according to Belgian media, injuring scores more and prompting authorities to lock down the Belgian capital.