After Tuesday morning’s rush-hour terror attacks in Brussels, authorities are piecing together details on a suspect while ISIS has claimed responsibility for the violence. Altogether, at least 26 people perished while over 100 more sustained injuries during explosions at a subway station and the Zaventem airport. Brussels is one of several cities affected by attacks of this nature, and President Obama urged the world to band together and defeat the “scourge” of terrorism.
All the while, the world is reacting. Some politicians are using the tragedy to further their own agendas while the internet largely wears hearts on sleeves for Belgium. One hero stepped up as a beacon of hope amid the airport chaos. A worker named Alphonse Youla was wrapping bags at a security/check-in desk when he heard the first explosion. In the aftermath, he lugged seven wounded patrons to elevators and moved them to safety.
Youla, whose uniform was spattered with blood, fielded questions from the media after his rescue efforts. He told the Wall Street Journal how he heard a man shout in Arabic immediately before the explosions commenced. He believed the first explosion may have been a gun shot, but the second, louder detonation left no doubt in his mind: “I saw people lying on the ground with a lot of blood who weren’t moving anymore.” Youla’s first thought was to help these people receive medical attention. The BBC’s Gavin Lee introduced the world to Youla on Twitter.
Alphonse was wrapping bags by check in desks + heard explosion.He pulled 7 wounded people to safety #brusselsairport pic.twitter.com/tbOQv0VVtE
— Gavin Lee (@GavinLeeNews) March 22, 2016
Youla also described his experiences in this Ruptly video.
Another video shows more scenes during and after Tuesday’s attacks.
(Via Wall Street Journal & Gavin Lee/BBC)