Brussels Bombings remembered one year later; Attack killed 32 incl. Dutch tourists

By Janene Pieters on March 22, 2017 - 11:30
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Palace on Dam square in Amsterdam lit in the colors of the Belgian flag to show solidarity following the Brussels bombings, 22 Mar 2016 (Photo: @Chcycnne/Twitter). (Palace on Dam square in Amsterdam lit in the colors of the Belgian flag to show solidarity following the Brussels bombings, 22 Mar 2016 (Photo: @Chcycnne/Twitter))

The one year anniversary of the Brussels Bombings, terrorist attacks in which 32 people were killed including three Dutch tourists, was commemorated with a minute of silence at both bombing sites on Wednesday morning. Numerous remembrance ceremonies will be held in the Belgian city throughout the day, AD reports.

A ceremony was held at Zaventem airport. There the first moment of silence was observed at 7:58 a.m., the exact time when two suicide bombers detonated in a departure hall at the airport on March 22nd, 2016. Survivors, relatives from Belgium and abroad, King Filip and Queen Mathilde, Prime Minister Charles Michel and members of the Belgian government were all present as the names of 16 people who were killed at the airport were read.

The Belgian royals laid a wreath at a memorial plaque in the departure hall, before departing per subway to subway station Maalbeek. There a third suicide bomber attacked, also killing 16 people.

King Filip spoke to the driver of the subway in which the suicide bomber exploded. Here too the Belgian King lay a floral wreath on behalf of the Belgian nation. At 9:11 a.m., the time of the attack, a minute of silence was held. 

Schools and many other institutions across the country also commemorated the anniversary of the attack. Buses, trams and subways came to a stop at exactly 7:58 a.m. Drivers honked their horns and passengers applauded for a minute as a signal against hatred and terrorism.

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