'Some luck tonight': Brussels commuter saw bomb explode

(REUTERS) Remy Bonnaffe was listening to music on his headphones and checking his phone as he waited for his train home to Ghent after a day at the office in Brussels. "A normal day."

Then, over the music, something more sinister: "All of a sudden I heard a bang, looked over and saw this thing burning.

"And at first I thought, maybe it's just a regular explosion, an electronic device or whatever," he said. "But when I heard the second explosion I started to get in instinct mode."

The 23-year-old lawyer had the presence of mind to snap a photograph of the flames from the first blast and later posted it on Twitter. That image traveled around the world showing what Belgian police are calling yet another "terrorist" attack in Europe. The suspected bomber was shot dead by soldiers but no one else was hurt.

"I think we had some luck tonight," Bonnaffe told Reuters by telephone after he finally made it home. "I'm happy that no one was injured and that this was basically a failed attempt."

He and dozens of others were milling in the underground concourse of the elegant, 1930s Central Station at around 8:30 p.m. (1830 GMT) on Tuesday, checking the information screens to see which platform on the floor below their train would be at.

Fire is seen at Brussels central station in Brussels, Belgium June 20, 2017. Courtesy Twitter/@remybonnaffe/via REUTERS

Startled by the first blast, which he photographed, he then heard but could not see a second, similar explosion. Then came what were probably shots fired at the suspect by one of the army patrols that have been an accepted fixture of Brussels' public spaces since Islamist gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people in and around Paris in November 2015.

"I heard rapid bangs that to me were very clearly gunshots but I didn't see anything," Bonnaffe said. "This reaffirms my sense of urgency and I left as quickly as I could. Upstairs.

"With all the events, I just wanted to get away as quickly as possible from the mass and get to a place inside."

He took refuge in a hotel across from the station, alerting the receptionist that there was an emergency going on. There was a "scary moment" when people in the lobby were told to take cover. But police quickly appeared to take control of the area.