A minute’s silence at 7:58 a.m. marked the moment the first bomb at the airport was detonated. Victims and their families, politicians, emergency services and airport employees attended the ceremony. All airport activity was suspended.
The royals and government representatives then arrived by metro at Maalbeek station, the site of the second bombing, and laid a wreath at a commemoration wall. At 9:11 a.m., the exact time of the explosion, all employees of the Brussels transport network held a “moment of noise,” applauding in memory of the victims of the attacks.
The names of those who died were read out solemnly, accompanied by a single cello.
Inside the departure hall, a large wreath lay in a cordoned-off area.
A memorial by artist Jean-Henri Compere was then unveiled near the Schuman roundabout, Politico reported.
Sixteen people died after two bombs exploded in the airport’s departure hall last year. Another sixteen were killed by a separate terror attack at the metro station in the EU area of the Belgian capital. More than 300 people were left injured after both attacks.
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