EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS :Deadly Explosions Hit Brussels Airport

Deadly Explosions Rock Zaventem Airport In Brussels

Deadly Explosions Rock Zaventem Airport In Brussels

Explosions were also heard at a Brussels train station.

Two loud explosions rocked the main airport terminal in Brussels, Belgium on Tuesday, a day after authorities said a new suspect in the Nov. 13, 2015 Paris terror attacks -- possibly the bomb-maker -- was likely loose in the city.

Airport spokeswoman Anke Fransen said: "There were two blasts in the departure hall. First aid team are in place for help."

Belgium's public broadcaster RTBF said, according to hospital officials, there were as many as 10 fatalities and dozens injured in the blasts, which witnesses said hit the departure hall at Brussels Airport. Some witnesses told Sky News the blasts struck near the American Airlines desk in the departures hall.

Several people were injured in the explosion at Maelbeeck metro station.

Belgian media also reported that apparent gunshots were heard, and shouting in Arabic, before the explosions. CBS News could not independently verify those reports.

Footage released on social media showed people running away with smoke billowing from the building. Windows were also shattered due to the shockwave. 

About an hour after the explosions at the airport, there were reports of an explosion at the Maelbeek metro station in central Brussels, very near the U.S. Embassy and European Union headquarters. The metro system was shut down. It was not immediately clear whether there were casualties at Maelbeek.

Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon raised the nation's terror alert to it

At least one person was killed and several injured 

Police are seen in front of the main terminal of Brussels Airport after two large explosions in the departures hall, March 22, 2016

after two explosions occurred in the departure hall

of Zaventem Airport in Brussels Tuesday morning.

Police arrested one of the prime suspects in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, on Friday in the now-notorious Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek. On Monday, officials said they were still searching another man, identified as Najim Laachraoui -- who may have been group's bomb-maker.

Belgian media said the airport was being evacuated and no flights were allowed. Rail transport to the facility was also halted. 

The Brussels airport serves 23 million passengers annually.

CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata reported that, according to Belgian authorities, Laachraoui's DNA was found on the explosives used in the gun and suicide attacks in Paris. The carnage in Paris is believed to have been planned largely in Brussels, where a handful of the attackers lived or had links.

Other media outlets reported explosions at up to three metro stations.

His whereabouts are unknown, and prosecutors admitted Monday they weren't close to solving the puzzle.

Video and photos from Brussels Airport, which is located in Zaventem, a suburb just northeast of the capital, showed windows of the main terminal blown out with smoke rising from the shattered panes.

Passengers crowd toward exits inside the main terminal of Brussels Airport, in Belgium, after a couple of apparent bomb blasts in the main terminal, March 22, 2016

Gunfire was also reported. 

live images of passengers being herded by airport staff toward exits away from the scene of the explosions. The mood seemed tense but orderly and mostly calm. Sky's Alex Rossi, who was in the terminal at the time of the blasts at about 8 a.m local time (3 a.m. Eastern), said they caused the building to shake.

Video from the main departures hall, taken on cell phone by a passenger, showed dozens of ceiling tiles and other debris on the floor.

Brussels Metro operator STIB announced on Twitter that the metro is closing.

Passengers were being told by airport officials to leave their hand luggage on the floor and to continue toward airport exits. Outside, passengers gathered on the tarmac and were guided onto buses to be transported to a crisis center.

Shortly after, explosions were heard at Brussels train station, staff told.

Damage inside Brussels airport

Both the airport and all Brussels metro stations were evacuated. All flights were suspended or diverted. 

Metro Brussel

The incident occurred four days after the arrest in Brussels of a suspected participant in November militant attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. Belgian police had been on alert for any reprisal action.

Two loud explosions at Zaventem airport in Brussels

There was no immediate official comment on the cause of the attack.