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'Pray for Brussels': What people were saying online after attacks

flagTuesday's terrorism attacks in Brussels were met almost immediately with outpourings of emotion and displays of solidarity online.
The word "Brussels" in various languages dominated Twitter's list of top worldwide trends. Under the French word for the city - Bruxelles - the most widely shared image was one drawn by Plantu, a cartoonist for the French newspaper Le Monde. It explicitly linked the November attacks in Paris to Tuesday's bombings:
huggingImage copyrightTwitter / Le Monde
Plantu also drew one of the most widely shared images after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January 2015.
"Pray for Belgium", "Pray for Brussels" and "Je Suis Bruxelles" were among the most popular Twitter slogans, all used tens of thousands of times in the hours after the attacks. A popular set of memes used adaptations of the famous Belgian cartoon character Tintin and many people posted images incorporating the black, yellow and red of the Belgian flag:
tin tin cryingImage copyrightInstagram / theanix1

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tin tinImage copyrightTwitter
prayersImage copyrightTwitter
Image caption"Thoughts for Brussels and all of Belgium"
Other tributes incorporated Brussels landmarks such as The Atomium - a huge building based on a model of an atom originally constructed for the 1958 World's Fair - and Manneken Pis, a famous statue of a urinating small boy.
atomiumImage copyrightTwitter
Image captionThis tribute includes a drawing of the Atomium
Image copyrightTwitter
Image caption"A little message for the terrorists"
Outside the city's stock exchange, people chalked messages on the pavement in an apparently spontaneous tribute to the victims:
stock exchangeImage copyrightTwitter
Inside Belgium, a cluster of hashtags offering help including "Brussels lift", "open house", "ik wil helpen" ("I want to help") and "porte ouvert" ("open door") started trending as people offered assistance to those left stranded by the closing of the airport and the city's transport network. 

Brussels attacks: Latest updates

  1. At least 26 people killed in attacks on Brussels airport and a central metro station
  2. Two blasts at Zaventem airport - one probably a suicide bomber, officials say
  3. Airport blasts kill 11, wound 81, says Belgian health minister
  4. At least 15 people killed and 55 injured in Maelbeek metro station bombing
  5. Prime Minister Charles Michel appeals for calm and solidarity
  6. The blasts come days after the capture of Salah Abdeslam, the main fugitive in the Paris attacks in November

Brussels explosions: Many dead in airport and metro terror attacks

Many people have been killed or seriously injured in terrorist attacks at Brussels international airport and a city metro station, Belgium's PM says.
Two blasts hit Zaventem airport at about 07:00 GMT, and another struck Maelbeek metro station an hour later.
The government has not confirmed casualty numbers. Brussels transport officials say 15 died at Maelbeek and media report 11 dead at the airport.
Belgium has now raised its terror threat to its highest level.
The attacks come four days after Salah Abdeslam, the main fugitive in the Paris attacks, was seized in Brussels.
Prime Minister Charles Michel called the latest attacks "blind, violent and cowardly", adding: "This is a day of tragedy, a black day... I would like to call on everyone to show calmness and solidarity".European Council president Donald Tusk said: "These attacks mark another low by the terrorists in the service of hatred and violence."
The airport and whole transport system in Brussels are closed.

'Blood everywhere'

Two blasts tore through the departures area of Zaventem airport shortly after 08:00 local time (07:00 GMT).
The Belgian prosecutor said "probably a suicide bomber" was involved.
Belgian media quoted the health minister as saying 11 people had died and 81 were injured.
The Belga news agency reports that shots were fired and shouts in Arabic were heard before the two explosions.
Media captionDebris litters the floor of Brussels airport after two explosions hit the building
Media captionEyewitnesses at Brussels airport describe the moment the blast hit
Media captionPeople left the Brussels metro following the blast
Images on social media showed panic as people fled the airport.
Zach Mouzoun, arriving on a flight from Geneva, told France's BFM television: "It was atrocious. The ceilings collapsed. There was blood everywhere, injured people, bags everywhere. We were walking in the debris. It was a war scene."
All flights have been diverted. Eurostar has cancelled all trains to and from Brussels. The Thalys France-Benelux train operator says the entire network is closed.
Security has been stepped up at Gatwick and Heathrow airports and the UK Foreign Office has advised British nationals to avoid crowded areas in Belgium. UK PM David Cameron is chairing a meeting of the Cobra response committee on Tuesday.
France has stepped up security. President Francois Hollande has held a cabinet meeting to discuss the Belgian explosions.
He said: "The terrorists have struck Belgium but it is Europe that was targeted. And it is the whole world that is concerned with this."
There is also extra security at Dutch airports.
Map
Map
The metro blast occurred shortly after 08:00 GMT during the rush hour at Maelbeek station, with TV images showing smoke billowing from the entrance.
Alexandre Brans told AP: "The metro was leaving Maelbeek station when there was a really loud explosion. It was panic everywhere. There were a lot of people in the metro."
Fire brigade spokesman Pierre Meys told AFP: "Most of the wounded have been evacuated. The scene is rather chaotic."
Picture taken with permission from the Facebook site of Jef Versele showing the aftermath of this morning's explosions at Brussels airport, 22 MarchImage copyrightPA
Image captionThe departures hall at Zaventem following the blasts
The whole metro system has been closed following a blast at Maalbeek station
Image captionThe whole metro system has been closed
The station is close to EU institutions. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, has told employees to stay indoors or at home. All meetings at EU institutions have been cancelled.
Ryan McGhee, a catering worker at a college in Brussels, told the BBC: "The entire city is in lockdown. People are calm at the moment but the atmosphere is tense."
Media captionBrussels airport worker: 'My colleague hid in the luggage carousel'
Belgium's Interior Minister Jan Jambon had said on Monday that the country was on the highest level of alert for possible revenge attacks after the capture of Salah Abdeslam.
He told Belgian radio: "We know that stopping one cell can... push others into action. We are aware of it in this case."
Zaventem airport is 11km (7 miles) north-east of Brussels and dealt with more than 23 million passengers last year.
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