Employees at Brussels' international airport in Zaventem gather for a memorial ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the twin Brussels attacks by Islamic extremists on March 22, 2017. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP)
BRUSSELS, Belgium — Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde on Wednesday led a minute of silence in memory of the 32 people killed in the Brussels airport and metro attacks one year ago.
Silence fell at 7:58 am (0658 GMT), the exact time suicide bombers Ibrahim El Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui struck at Zaventem Airport on March 22, 2016.
The royal couple led hundreds of family members, rescue workers and airport staff in a solemn ceremony outside the airport, which was badly damaged in the attack.
The names of the 16 people of seven nationalities who died in the airport bombing were read out.
Later, the king and queen will travel by underground train to Maalbeek station in the city’s European quarter where Bakraoui’s brother Khalid blew himself up on a crowded train at 9:11 am, killing a further 16 people.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
Fire brigade members walk past a remembrance note on a wall inside the departure hall of Brussels airport in Zaventem prior to the start of a memorial ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the twin Brussels attacks by Islamic extremists on March 22, 2017. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP)
Afterwards, trams and buses will come to a halt and staff will hold a “minute of noise,” in which commuters will be invited to take part “to show that they do not forget but they will stay standing against hate and terror,” the Brussels public transport company Stib said.
The king and queen will then inaugurate a new steel memorial at the heart of the European Union institutions based in Brussels.
Advertisement
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
