Schoolchildren were evacuated from the area of a major explosion in Antwerp as emergency services pulled a second victim from the rubble and rushed to rescue those who remain trapped underneath.
Students from Johannesschool were transferred off-site by emergency services shortly after the explosion in the Antwerp district of Wilrijk led to the collapse of three buildings around noon on Friday.
Emergency response teams rushed to the site of the incident en masse, and said that other people were probably trapped beneath the collapsed buildings as they announced they had rescued a first victim at 1:13 PM.
A second victim was pulled from the rubble at around 2:00 PM, according to live reports by VRT.
Both persons rescued were severely injured in the blast, which took place on the corner of Ridderveld with Palmanshoevestraat and Egied Segerslaan, the outlet reports.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
This story is developing.
