Maelbeek Station, where 16 people lost their lives in a suicide bombing during March’s Brussels terrorist attacks, has reopened to the public. The city’s public transport authority, the STIB-MIVB, has also extended operating hours which had been cut short by the deadly ISIS attack, with heavily armed soldiers now patrolling the entire network.
The metro stop, located in the heart of the EU district, now also plays host of a tribute wall to the victims of suicide bomber Khalid El-Bakraoui, as well as the others who lost their lives in the morning bombings at Zaventem Airport on March 22nd.
Thirty-two people lost their lives and a further 300 were injured in the attacks, with Zaventem Airport still partially closed.
At the main entrance to the station, where the memorial wall has been placed for the public to write messages of defiance and support, while the famous line-drawn portraits of artist Benoît van Innis that have been on the Maelbeek Station walls for decades have become symbolic all over Belgium.
“I got out alive, RIP those who didn’t,” reads one message. “Never surrender,” another commuter added.
In the investigation following the attack, Brussels police have focussed on finding the bombers’ accomplices, with the country’s Justice Minister Koen Geens officially asking all EU members to help Belgian authorities gather data from social media and messaging apps to help the authorities bring those responsible to justice.
