Brussels explosions: St Andrews students '˜safe and well'

A GROUP of students from the University of St Andrews who were visiting the European Parliament in Brussels today are safe, the university has confirmed.

The debating chamber or hemicycle at the European Parliament in Brussels. Picture: Contributed

The 12 students, who were guests of MEP Ian Duncan, were in the Belgian capital at the time three bomb blasts occurred at Brussels Airport and the Maelbeek metro station, killing 34 and wounding 170.

A university spokesperson confirmed that contact had been made with the group in the aftermath of the explosions.

A statement from the university read: “A group of 12 of our students were in Brussels visiting the European Parliament as guests of Ian Duncan MEP.

“We’ve been able to speak with members of the group who are all now safe and well in their hotel and hoping to fly home tomorrow.

“We’re very grateful to Mr Duncan and his staff for their assistance in ensuring the group’s safety.”

The students, along with a delegation from the Scottish Conservative Women’s Council, had been scheduled to visit the European Parliament with Mr Duncan when the attacks took place.

Conservative MEP Mr Duncan, who is currently still in the European Parliament building after it was locked down following the blasts, said: “I know these places very well, I go through the airport twice a week, use these busy metro stations and frequent these public spaces all the time, you expect them to be normal yet they are anything but normal now.”

Mr Duncan, a St Andrews graduate, said that images of the attacks were ‘shocking and unimaginable’.