Belgian troops shot dead a suspected suicide bomber in Brussels Central Station on Tuesday night after he set off a small explosion.

Shots could be heard inside the city's busy station as troops moved in to "neutralise" the suspect who, according to reports, was wearing an explosives belt.

The station and the adjacent historic city centre were packed with tourists and the area was evacuated as police set up a security cordon at about 9pm local time.

“There was an explosion around a person. That person was neutralised by the soldiers that were on the scene,” a police spokesman said. “The police are in numbers at the station and ­everything is under control.”