Arizona couple describe 'chaos' in Brussels Airport during terror attacks

• A Gilbert couple was at Brussels Airport Tuesday when two terrorists bombs exploded, killing several people
• Andrew and Denise Brandt were waiting for a connecting flight to Liberia when they felt and heard the first explosion
• They said there was chaos and conflicting safety messages before they were ordered to drop their belongings and herded onto the tarmac

A former Glendale police officer and his wife were between flights at Brussels Airport when a pair of bombs detonated Tuesday inside the check-in area, leading to to a chaotic evacuation onto the tarmac.

Andrew and Denise Brandt, of Gilbert, had just stepped out of a duty-free store in Terminal B when the first of two explosions sent a pressure wave through the building, followed by a crowd of people running and crying toward them.

"We felt the bomb, and we heard it," Andrew Brandt told The Arizona Republic in a phone interview from Belgium on Tuesday. "It felt like a wave, a wave going through your body. We didn't feel the second explosion."

Brandt said the blasts were followed by a chain of conflicting emergency bulletins before passengers were forced to abandon most of their carry-on belongings and herded out of the terminal onto shuttle buses where they were taken to a DHL cargo area.

"It was chaos," Brandt said. "They were telling people they had to get out. They wouldn't let you take anything ... We had to leave all of our stuff at the airport."

The explosions came before a third bomb went off at a downtown Brussels metro station beneath the European Union headquarters during the morning rush hour. At least 34 people were killed and more than 150 were injured in the three explosions, local officials told media. Another bomb that did not detonate was found during a search of the airport.

Public transportation in and out of Brussels was shut down Tuesday and terror alerts rose across Europe, in the U.S. and around the world.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement to the Amaq news agency.

"We were fearing terrorist attacks, and that has now happened," Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said.

Chaos, scant information at the airport

Brandt said there wasn't an immediate reaction inside the terminal. After the initial shock of the explosion, some people continued eating and shopping. Then others started running toward them, crying. He said there were no bulletins or emergency announcements for several minutes.

"People weren't panicking," Brandt said, adding that his first impulse was to run toward the scene of the explosions. "Then 10 to 15 minutes later, a message came on the PA system saying, 'Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate.' It said it four times."

He said officials overrode that message with another telling them not to leave — and then the order to evacuate was replayed.

The Brandts, who had arrived on a flight from Bangkok just after 7 a.m., were ordered out of the terminal along with hundreds of others.

Brandt described a surreal scene outside of the terminal. Through a chain-link fence he saw a bloodied, disheveled man in short pants walking around without medical assistance. He said some people were taking pictures while others posed for selfies.

"I didn't take any pictures," he said. "I feel like it's disrespectful."

He said passengers were ordered into shuttle buses and taken to the cargo area, where thousands of people were waiting. He said after waiting about two hours, they were loaded onto another bus and taken to a recreation center where they were given three options: Stay there and register so relatives would know they were okay; call a local family or friend to come get them; or board a train to a nearby hotel.

"They gave us a list," Brandt said. "We picked a hotel."

'We keep hearing sirens'

Hours later from a hotel in Leuven, about 15 minutes east of Brussels, Brandt said they could still hear sirens outside racing toward downtown.

"We're good. We're good," he said. "We keep hearing sirens. Never-ending sirens."

The Brandts were flying from Bangkok, where Denise was attending a business meeting, to their temporary home in Liberia on the west coast of Africa. Denise works for an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University called Jhpiego Global Health Services, which provides health care for women, infants and children in developing countries.

Pair with Tenn. connections missing in Brussels

Brandt said that for now, they are waiting inside the hotel while Jhpiego officials work to get them back home. But he said Brussels Airport is expected to be closed for at least two days.

Brandt said most of the city is on lockdown, and people are being asked to stay inside. He said they are watching news updates for information.

Brandt said the experience has taught him to be more vigilant. As a former law-enforcement officer, he said he is always aware of his surroundings. But the Belgium attacks are a reminder that violence can happen anywhere at any time.

However, it isn't going to stop him from traveling,including a trip to Germany this year for Oktoberfest.

"You can't let fear take over your life," Brandt said.