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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; To Annie West, the terrorist attacks in Belgium on Tuesday were more than simply unthinkable events that took place on the world stage.</p><p>The assaults on the European hub, which targeted the Zaventem airport and the Maelbeek Metro subway station, could have had devastating effects on two members of her immediate family.</p><p>West&#8217;s brother-in-law, Howard West, was on his way to the Brussels airports when the attacks took place and her niece, Anna Elkin, had been at the airport less than a day before.</p><p>Howard West, originally of Wilkes-Barre, is a United flight attendant supervisor who was en route to Belgium from Los Angeles when a flight attendant pulled him aside.</p><p>&#8220;They told him his flight to the Brussels airport wasn&#8217;t going to happen,&#8221; Annie West said. &#8220;They told him the plane was being re-routed to Germany.&#8221;</p><p>Less than 24 hours before, Elkin was making her way home from Israel and headed to the airport. She was travelling with a group that had making plans for spending time at the airport if they missed their flight.</p><p>&#8220;They were late and they thought they had missed the plane,&#8221; said Annie West. &#8220;They were thinking about what they would do during their time at the airport.&#8221;</p><p>Although Elkin and her fellow travelers just made the flight, West said, should they have missed it as they have anticipated, they would have been there during the bombings.</p><p>West said the family received text messages with news of the attacks, which killed 34 people and injured at least 270 others.</p><p>As the world reacted to the tragedy, with President Barack Obama condemning the actions as &#8220;outrageous attacks on innocent people&#8221; and Pope Francis leading thousands in prayer in Rome, Annie West said the thoughts and prayers of family members were with those who suffering because of the tragedy.</p><p>West, describing the family as &#8220;close, close, close-knit,&#8221; said its members kept each other informed as to what was going on, reassuring each other of the safety of their loved ones.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;There are six brothers and sisters in the family, texts were going out to everyone,&#8221; she said.</p><p>She said family matriarch, Joan West, now over 80, who herself had been an only child, lives for her children and grandchildren.</p><p>West said that although the family is grateful their loved ones were spared from any harm, their hearts continue to be with those who were killed or injured during the bombing.</p><p>&#8220;This is something that can impact any family,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It came so close to directly affecting ours.&#8221;</p><p>Annie West said her brother-in-law is expected to be arriving back in the United States early Thursday morning, having spent a few days in Germany.</p><p>&#8220;He said he was really exhausted,&#8221; she said. &#8220;He needed a day to regroup.&#8221;</p><p>Donna West Campbell, Anna Elkin&#8217;s mother, expressed the family&#8217;s great relief that their loved ones had been spared.</p><p>&#8220;Tears of joy today,&#8221; she said on a Facebook post. &#8220;My daughter-in-law was returning from Israel less than 24 hours before the bombing. My brother was on his way to the that airport to visit friends.&#8221;</p><p>On Wednesday, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIL or ISIS, claimed responsibility for the attacks, with one person having been arrested and authorities still searching for others believed to be involved in the attacks.</p><p>Two suspects died during the attack: Ibrahim El Bakraoui, 29, when he allegedly detonated a bomb at the Zaventem airport and Khalid El Bakraoui, 27, who police said set off a bomb at the Maelbeek subway station.</p><p><em>The Associated Press contributed to this report </em></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">People holding a banner reading &#8220;I am Brussels&#8221; behind flowers and candles to mourn for the victims at Place de la Bourse in the center of Brussels, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Bombs exploded at the Brussels airport and one of the city&#8217;s metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding scores of people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_109375295-7ec61b0f4c50454eb69a3aace4be9416.jpg</photo0><caption0>People holding a banner reading &#8220;I am Brussels&#8221; behind flowers and candles to mourn for the victims at Place de la Bourse in the center of Brussels, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Bombs exploded at the Brussels airport and one of the city&#8217;s metro stations Tuesday, killing and wounding scores of people, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre residents recount experiences of loved ones overseas during Brussels attacks