Politics

These Are the Victims of the Brussels Attack

March 27th 2016

In the days following the Brussels terrorist attacks, which left at least 31 people dead, the identities and stories of some of those victims are starting to emerge.

The two separate bombings have now been claimed by the radical group Islamic State and took place about an hour apart, first at Zaventem airport and later a Maelbeek Metro station stop. Many people believed to have been affected by the attacks are still missing. Here are some of the victims who have been identified so far.

1. Adelma Tapia Ruiz

Adelma Tapia Ruiz/Facebook - facebook.com

Adelma Tapia Ruiz, a Peruvian woman and mother of two, was among those killed during the Zaventem airport attacks on Tuesday, according to The New York Times. She was reportedly traveling with her two 3-year-old daughters to visit her mother in New York. Her husband, Christopher Delcambe, accompanied them to the airport to see them off, and he reportedly followed his daughters outside the gate while they played just before the explosions happened. The girls survived the attack, as did Delcambe, the New York Times reports

Her brother reportedly mourned her on Facebook as well, according to The Huffington Post.

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“It’s very complicated to describe this pain that we’re feeling at home, but as an older brother I know that I have to do it,” her brother wrote on Facebook, as translated by The Huffington Post. “But even more incomprehensible is not being able to be close to her.”

2. Olivier Delespesse

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Olivier Delespesse died during the Brussels metro attack, the FédérationWallonie-Bruxelles, his workplace, confirmed on Wednesday.

Delepesse's friend Cath Dubois initially posted on Facebook that he went missing on Tuesday, and she confirmed on Wednesday that he was one of the victims.

The Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles remembered him in a Facebook post on Wednesday:

3. Léopold Hecht

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Léopold Hecht, a college student at the Université Saint-Louis, died after sustaining injuries from the metro attack, according to the Huffington Post. His university confirmed his death in a Facebook post on Wednesday:

His brother wrote on Facebook on Tuesday that he had been found and was being treated in the hospital for his wounds:

4. Andre and Danielle Adam

Former Belgian ambassador Andre Adam was confirmed dead in the Belgian Foreign Ministry and a Facebook post by his daughter on Friday that is no longer available. Adam served as ambassador to the U.S. during Bill Clinton's presidency, and was killed in the first attack at Zaventem airport with his wife Danielle.

Daughter Geneviève "Gigi" Adam identified her father as a "cultured and cheerful man," but also "an esteemed diplomat," who helped work toward peaceful resolutions everywhere from Cuba and Mobutu to London and Paris. According to his daughter, Andre served as a representative for the United Nations from 1997 to 1998 until being appointed Belgian ambassador in Washington, D.C. “His death has wounded us all forever,” she said. “All his life he had worked towards the peaceful resolution of conflict in the world.”

5. Jennifer Scintu Waetzmann


The Associated Press confirmed late Friday that Jennifer Scintu Waetzmann, coach for an Aachen youth handball club from Germany, was killed at the Zaventem airport. She and husband Claudio Scinto were on their way to New York. The couple had planned a late honeymoon there.

Scinto was among the 270 people at the airport who sustained injuries.

6. Patricia Rizzo

Rizzo's death was confirmed by the Italian Foreign Ministry and her cousin in a Facebook post on Friday. Rizzo was from Italy and was working in Belgian as assistant to the head of human resources at the European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA). The ERCEA released a tribute to Rizzo, writing that she has "made a big and positive difference," and "had a wonderful, smiling attitude and a zest for life." 

"With her energy and extraordinary spirit of initiative, she was always ready to help everyone and bring her enthusiasm and liveliness to others," the ERCEA added.

7. Loubna Lafquiri

Lafquiri was killed in the second explosion at Maelbeek metro, a coworker confirmed on Friday. Lafquiri taught at an Islamic school in Brussels, Buzzfeed reports.

In his Facebook post, Professor Rachid Haddach wrote that Lafquiri taught physical education to his daughters. 

“She was an exceptional woman,” Allaf told CNN. “She represented the true values of Islam with generosity and caring.”

Lafquiri was married and had three sons. 

8. Elita Weah

Weah was confirmed dead by her family on social media on Friday. A Liberian native, Weah was living in the Netherlands and traveling to Boston to attend her stepfather's funeral when the Brussels airport was attacked.

Weah had seven siblings and a 13-year-old daughter.

Her Facebook page currently serves as a memorial to her for friends and family.

9. Bart Migom

Migom, 21, was a second-year student studying marketing at the Howest University in Belgium. The university confirmed his death in a Facebook post on Friday by Howest’s managing director, Lode De Geyter. "Our thought go out to Bart's family, and we convey our deepest sympathies to his parents, brother and sister. In particular also his brother Levi and his cousin Benjamin, who are also members of the Howest community," Geyter wrote.

Local media reported that hundreds of Howest students gathered for a moment of silence in Migom's name on Friday afternoon.

Emily Eisenman, Migom’s American girlfriend, told CNN on Thursday that Migom had been on his way to the U.S. to meet her. She spoke with him for the last time just before he arrived at the airport.

10. David Dixon

Dixon, a computer programmer and native of Nottingham, England, was confirmed dead on Friday by the U.K. Foreign Office, killed in the attacks at Maelbeek Metro station.

Dixon had a wife and young son. Dixon and his wife had lived in Belgian for 10 years, but friend Simon Hartley-Jones told the BBC that the couple visited Nottingham regularly.

Hartley-Jones described Dixon as "an amazing man" who "deeply, deeply loves his son."

11. Sascha and Alexander Pinczowski

Dutch siblings who lived in New York, Sascha and Alexander were killed at the Brussels airport after visiting their mother, who is based in Lanaken. 

Sascha had just graduated in 2015 from Marymount Manhattan College in New York with a degree in business. Last summer, she worked as an intern at the catering company Shiraz Events.

Alexander had been engaged to Cameron Cain, and had been working on a "craft-related business" in Holland, the Associated Press reports.

In a statement, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered his condolences to their family. "Their lives were cut short by cowards who have chosen extremism and hate instead of peace and unity. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend our deepest prayers and condolences to the Pinczowski family, as well as all those who lost loved ones in Tuesday's heartbreaking attacks," Cuomo said.

ATTN: will continue updating this story as more victims are identified. Writer Laura Donovan contributed to a previous version of this report.

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