Belgian police were hunting two masked men after a shooting in Belgium on Wednesday morning.
CCTV footage from Brussels showed at least two men firing what appeared to be Kalashnikov rifles in the metro.
A spokeswoman for the Brussels police said that the suspects had fled into the metro system and could still be underground.
Video images show two men wearing balaclavas armed with automatic weapons entering the Clémenceau metro station and opening fire.
Initial reports suggest that no one was injured in the shooting, which is being linked to drug trafficking.
A massive manhunt is now under way for the suspects, involving units from the federal and railway police, as well as members of elite crime forces.
Police have set up a command post in Anderlecht’s Town Hall to co-ordinate the search for the culprits, which they warned could take several hours.
The incident has caused major disruption to public transport in Brussles and Anderlecht, with officials forced to close down parts of the metro.
Sarah Frederickx, a spokeswoman for Brussels South police told Politico: « A shooting took place. The images from the surveillance cameras show that the suspects fled towards the Clemenceau metro station. »
« For security reasons we had to shut down the metro line. There are no victims, » she added.
STIB, which runs the capital’s metro, said that the 2 and 6 lines were interrupted between Trône, near the European Parliament, and Gare de l’Ouest in Anderlecht.
Tram lines 4 and 10 have also been suspended between Gare du Nord in Schaerbeek and Churchill in Uccle, and tram lines 51 and 81 between Porte d’Anderlecht and Brussels Midi, west of the city centre.
In a statement, STIB spokesperson Guy Sablon advised travellers to « use metro lines 1 & 5 and our other bus & tram lines.
« Our network is pretty dense in the city centre so there should be alternative means of transport. This said, there is a big impact in the area around Midi — our busiest station. »
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