Around 100 people evacuated after gas leak near Brussels Central Station

Updated: 16 August 2026 (CEST)

Emergency services evacuated around 100 people near Brussels Central Station on Friday, 14 August 2026, after a gas leak was reported in the surrounding area, according to RTBF, La Libre and La DH. The available reports confirm the precautionary evacuation but do not establish the precise time of the incident, the buildings affected or whether anyone required medical treatment.

The response unfolded in the dense city-centre district around Brussels-Central, where homes, offices, shops, cultural venues and several public-transport services sit close together. La Libre described the incident as a gas leak near the station, while La DH also reported that roughly 100 people were moved from the area. Neither publication’s available report identified the cause of the leak or gave a definitive account of when evacuees were allowed to return.

The evacuation was the immediate public-safety consequence. A gas leak in a crowded urban district requires responders to control access while technicians locate and isolate the source. Sibelga, the distribution-network operator for all 19 Brussels municipalities, advises anyone smelling gas to leave the building and call its round-the-clock emergency number, 0800 19 400, or the European emergency number 112. It also warns people not to operate electrical switches or create flames or sparks.

The Brussels-Capital Region says 112 should be used when firefighters or an ambulance are urgently required. Its official guidance asks callers to provide the exact location, describe the danger and say whether anyone is injured. Those instructions are particularly relevant around Central Station, where a restricted perimeter can affect residents, workers, visitors and passengers in quick succession.

No official incident bulletin located by Belgium Pulse has yet clarified the leak’s origin, the technical repair, any transport disruption or the time at which the safety perimeter ended. The three initial reports appear to rely on the same breaking-news information, so their agreement does not amount to three independent official confirmations.

The main questions now concern whether the leak has been fully sealed, what caused it and whether buildings underwent safety checks before reopening. Until the emergency services, Sibelga or the City of Brussels issues a fuller account, those points remain unverified.