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Prosecutors Appeal for Info on Brussels Airport Suspect

Thursday, April 7, 2016 9:25 am | 2 Minute Read

This CCTV image from the Brussels Airport surveillance cameras made available by Belgian Police, shows what officials believe may be suspects in the Brussels airport attack on March 22, 2016. The Belgian state prosecutor said in a press conference on Tuesday, that a photograph of three male suspects was taken at Zaventem. "Two of them seem to have committed suicide attacks. The third, wearing a light-coloured jacket and a hat, is actively being sought," the prosecutor said. REUTERS/CCTV/Handout via ReutersATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY — Video tape focuses on the terrorists in the Brussels airport attack on March 22. The two on the left were killed. The third, wearing a light-colored jacket and a hat, is actively being sought. (Reuters/CCTV/Handout via Reuters)

Belgian prosecutors have launched a public appeal for any information on the “man in hat,” a suspect in the Brussels Airport suicide bombings that killed 16 people.

Belgian Federal Prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt said Thursday that authorities were especially appealing to people who might have filmed or photographed the man. He was seen with two suicide bombers who died in the March 22 attacks. A subsequent explosion at Brussels’ Maelbeek subway station killed another 16 people the same day.

The suspect also wore a white jacket but discarded it at some point, prosecutors said.

In a video to accompany their appeal, investigators indicate the route the man took, out of the airport, through the nearby town of Zaventem and along a main road into the city. His last appearance on security cameras was in the district of Schaerbeek almost an hour after the bombing. Along the way, he took off his light-colored coat and was then seen in a light blue shirt with dark patches. He was wearing a dark hat throughout.

“It is especially the coat which interests us,” prosecutor Eric Van Der Sypt told a news conference, asking if anyone might have seen it along the suspect’s route.