The abortive attack in Brussels prevented by Momo

It is certainly with the help of a random passenger at the central station in Brussels that the attack on Tuesday evening did not take a dramatic turn. That evening, Mohamed Charfih, a native of Anderlecht, one of the nineteen municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, was on the train linking Schaerbeek to Denderleeuw, says DH.

As the train stopped at Pier 4, Mohamed Charfih, also known as Momo, felt the panick. «I could hear people screaming for help on the quay. The train's doors were opened and there, a man asked us to close them. But nobody intervened and these doors remained open. I then looked for the controller who was in the driver’s cabinet. For me, clearly, they were trying to hide. I then yelled to close those doors immediately! I asked that we move forward as soon as possible and that everyone should lay on the ground», said Mohamed Charfih, adding that he may have saved the lives of more than 60 passengers.

Mohamed was interviewed Tuesday night by the police. He returned to the police station the next day to provide investigators with more details.

«I was really struck by the fact that both the train driver and the controller really did not seem to have been trained for such incidents. I told the police that the images of the arrival of the train at the station», the man continued, convinced that if the train had not gone so fast, the terrorist would have gone on board.

This is consistent with the findings made on the spot by the police, notably using images from the station's cameras. You can see the terrorist heading towards platforms 3 and 4, once his device has exploded, before changing his mind and going up, perhaps at the sight of the already closed doors of the train.