On this day exactly 10 years ago, three explosions shocked Belgium. Suicide bombers detonated two bombs at Brussels Airport in Zaventem and one at Maelbeek metro station in Brussels, turning Tuesday 22 March 2016 into the deadliest day in the country's recent history.
The perpetrators were members of the terrorist group Islamic State (IS), with links to the Paris terrorist attacks in 2015. In Brussels, 32 innocent people (17 Belgians and 15 internationals) died that day, and 340 people were injured.
The people who died are more than a number; each of them had their own story. They were commuters on their way to work, tourists looking forward to their vacation, travellers going on their honeymoon, or loved ones who had accompanied them as far as the departure hall.
Exactly 10 years after the attack, The Brussels Times remembers those who died on that horrific Tuesday morning.
Brussels Airport in Zaventem - 07:58
Adelma Marina Tapia Ruiz (36), Peruvian
Adelma Marina Tapia Ruiz. Credit: Facebook
Adelma was the head chef in a restaurant. She, her Belgian husband and their two daughters were on their way to visit relatives abroad, and were separated for a few seconds.
“Adelma had walked into the airport terminal to check exactly where they needed to be to catch their flight to New York,” her brother Fernando told Het Laatste Nieuws. Their twin daughters (four years old at the time) were playing just outside the entrance hall with their father.
Adelma did not survive. Her husband and children were thrown by the flying debris. One of the children was injured.
Alexander (29) and Sascha Pinczowski (26), Dutch nationals living in Belgium
Alexander and Sascha Pinczowski. Credit: Facebook
Brother and sister Alexander and Sascha Pinczowski were queuing at the Delta Air Lines counter at Zaventem when the bombs went off.
They both lived in the Flemish municipality of Lanaken on the Dutch border, but had plans to go to New York. Alexander was due to meet his fiancée in Manhattan, Sascha was planning to spend some time with friends.
Fabienne Vansteenkiste (51), Belgian
Fabienne Vansteenkiste. Credit: Facebook
Fabienne was a check-in agent at Aviapartner and had started her shift earlier that night at 02:30. She had just finished work at 08:00 when the bombs went off in the departures hall.
Her husband, Eddy Van Calster, called Fabienne "his life and his rock". Together with her brother Philippe, Eddy founded V-Europe, an association that defends the interests of victims of terrorism.
Eddy had to wait three days before he found out what had happened to Fabienne. Afterwards, he released a song with his band, the proceeds of which went to the victims.
Jennifer Scintu-Waetzmann (29), German
Jennifer Scintu. Credit: Facebook
Jennifer was a customer service coordinator at a clothing company. She and her husband, Lars Waetzmann, 30, were getting ready for a trip to New York to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They were queuing together at the American Airlines check-in desk when the attack happened.
Lars was taken to hospital with serious injuries. "What was supposed to be our late honeymoon turned into pure horror," he later said of that day. "I have often asked myself: what if? What if we had left ten minutes later? What if we had driven a bit slower?"
Bart Migom (21), Belgian
Bart Migon. Credit: Facebook
The 21-year-old student from Diksmuide (West Flanders) was about to travel to see his girlfriend in the United States. He just got off the phone with his dad to let him know he had arrived at the airport safely. Bart was standing less than a metre away from the first bomb that went off.
"The people from the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) told us that he died instantly. He felt no pain. That brings us great comfort," Philip Migom, his father, told reporters. "And the fact that we were at least able to say goodbye, just before he set off on his journey."
Nic Coopman (57), Belgian
Nic Coopman. Credit: Facebook
As a machine installation manager for the Antwerp-based company Wenger, Nic and his wife lived in Deurne.
Nic was due to travel to Munich and Zurich for work and was actually due to leave on Wednesday, but decided to go a day early. Just as he was about to check in extra luggage, the bombs exploded.
Elita Weah (41), Dutch
Elita Weah. Credit: Family handout
Elita was a volunteer in elderly care. She was on her way to her stepfather's funeral in Boston when the terrorists struck at Zaventem.
An hour before her death, she spoke on the phone with her brother Randell. He later told reporters that Elita already had a sense of foreboding during their conversation.
"She was already at Brussels Airport when I spoke to her. She was due to check in at eight and fly at ten. Even the last time I spoke to her, she was scared. She felt that something terrible was going to happen," he said. "It is awful that it has come true."
Deng Jingquan (24), Chinese
Deng Jingquan. Credit: Facebook
The young Chinese entrepreneur Deng Jingquan – also known as Frank Deng – was on his way to Ljubljana in Slovenia when he was killed in the Zaventem bombing.
He had only graduated in international trade a few years earlier, but had already travelled extensively and set up his own technology company in Shenzhen in 2014. In social media posts, former colleagues remember him as very cheerful and capable.
André Adam (79), Belgian
André Adam. Credit: Facebook
A former diplomat, André used to be Belgium's United Nations representative in New York. On the day of the attacks, he and his wife Danielle intended to check in for their flight to Miami before 08:00.
But one of their daughters, who was travelling with them, was half an hour late, so the couple waited in the departure hall. Then, the suicide bombers struck. André was killed, and his wife Danielle was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Another daughter, Gigi, honoured him as "a loving father and beloved grandfather," in a statement on social media. "He died while trying to protect our mother during the attack."
Justin (30) and Stephanie Shults (29), American
Justin and Stephanie Shults. Credit: Family handout
Stephanie – originally from Kentucky – worked in Brussels for confectionery manufacturer Mars, while Justin – from Gatlinburg, Tennessee – had a job at Clarcor, a company that manufactures air filters.
The couple were in Zaventem to drop off Stephanie's mother, who had been visiting Brussels for a week. While the woman escaped the attacks unharmed, the young couple lost their lives.
Berit Viktorsson (63), Swedish
Berit Viktorsson. Credit: Facebook
Berit was standing with her suitcases in Brussels Airport's departure hall on that Tuesday morning, ready to fly home to Stockholm at the time of the attack.
Her son-in-law, who lives in Brussels, posted a missing person’s notice on social media in the hours following the attack. In the end, it was the Swedish ambassador in Paris who announced the death of her compatriot on Twitter.
Rosario Valcke (56), Belgian
Rosario Valcke. Credit: Facebook
After he had become homeless following a major setback in his life, Rosario had been living at the airport for several weeks and was ready to get his life back on track. On the morning of the attack, he had a job interview scheduled.
"According to the police, Rosario was having breakfast in one of the little eateries just a few metres from where the first bomb exploded," his sister Graziella told Het Laatste Nieuws. His friends organised a successful fundraiser to give him a dignified send-off.
Gail Minglana Martinez (41), American
Gail and her husband. Credit: Facebook
While originally from Texas, Gail, her husband Kato Martinez and their four children lived in the Netherlands. Kato, a lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force, was stationed at the Dutch NATO base in Brunssum. The family were at the airport when the bombs exploded.
Kato was seriously injured. Their four children, aged between six and 16, were all taken to hospital with burns. Gail did not survive the attack.
Bruce D. Baldwin (66), American
Bruce D. Baldwin. Credit: Handout
Bruce was a member of staff at the US Department of State, and worked at various embassies around the world, alongside his wife Virginia.
Bruce was queuing at the Delta Airlines check-in desk to fly back to his hometown: Saint Louis in Missouri. According to his family, he was standing right next to one of the suicide bombers. "He didn’t stand a chance."
After the attacks, his file remained top secret for a while because his wife held a senior position at NATO at the time.
Maelbeek metro station – 09:11
Olivier Delespesse (45), Belgian
Olivier Delespesse. Credit: Facebook
Every day, Olivier took the metro to work at the French Community (Wallonia-Brussels Federation), where his colleagues say he was never late.
When he failed to turn up on Tuesday morning, his colleagues immediately became concerned and launched a search on social media, but to no avail. Ultimately, it was his employer who announced on Facebook that Olivier had been killed in the attacks.
Loubna Lafquiri (34), Belgian
Loubna Lafquiri. Credit: Facebook
Loubna was a PE teacher at La Vertu, a state-recognised Muslim school in Schaerbeek. She usually took the metro to work from her home in Molenbeek, where she lived with her husband and their three young children.
On the Tuesday of the attacks, she never arrived. Countless calls to her phone led to nothing. The uncertainty only came to an end two days after the attack, when her body could be identified.
In 2018, a square in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean was renamed Place Loubna Lafquiri, in her honour.
David Dixon (51), British
David Dixon. Credit: Familu handout
Shortly after the attack on the airport in Zaventem, David sent his wife, Charlotte Sutcliffe, a text message to say he was safe while he was on the train. The couple lived in Brussels, where David worked as an IT specialist.
A few minutes later, he changed from his train to the metro and found himself standing next to the terrorist who detonated his bomb in Maelbeek station. It took three days before official confirmation of his death reached Charlotte.
Léopold Hecht (20), Belgian
Léopold Hecht. Credit: Saint Louis Bruxelles/Facebook
Léopold was in his second year of law at the University of Saint-Louis in Brussels. He took the metro to a lecture when the Maelbeek attack happened.
His family searched for him for hours on Tuesday, and was only able to track him down in hospital later that evening. Not much later, he died of his injuries.
Patricia Rizzo (48), Belgian-Italian
Patricia Rizzo. Credit: Facebook
Holding dual nationality, Patricia frequently said that she felt just as at home in Belgium as she did in Italy. She worked in Brussels as a staff member at the European Research Council, and took the metro to work every day.
Patricia's friends told the New York Times that she embodied "the typical cosmopolitan spirit of many Brussels residents." She navigated languages and borders with ease, and they described her as very cheerful and independent.
Aline Bastin (29), Belgian
Aline Bastin. Credit: Facebook
Aline, originally from Liège, was on her way to work at the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies, an organisation of European railway companies. She had been working for some time as communications manager.
Her mobile phone was still working on Tuesday after the attack at the metro station, but nobody could get through to her. "In the late afternoon, it went straight to voicemail. At first, I thought she was lying in the rubble and hoped the police would still find her," her mother told reporters at the time.
It was in vain. Three days after the attacks, confirmation came that her body had been identified.
Gilles Laurent (46), Belgian
Gilles Laurent. Credit: Facebook
Gilles, a sound engineer from Namur, worked on films all over the world. When the bomb exploded at Maelbeek station, Laurent was on the metro, on his way to the Centre Vidéo de Bruxelles, where he was putting the finishing touches to his first documentary as a director.
He leaves behind his wife Reiko and two daughters. In his obituary, they wrote: "You have been torn from us by this terrible fate, but you will always remain by our side."
Yves Cibuabua (28), Congolese
Yves Cibuabua. Credit: Facebook
Just before the attack at Maelbeek station, Yves sent a text message to his younger brother – the last his family heard from him. Originally from Congo, Yves was studying in Brussels.
He was married and left behind his wife and two young daughters, whom he was very devoted to. In his last Instagram post, he wrote: “My two little angels.”
Sabrina Esmael Fazal (24), Belgian
Sabrina Esmael Fazal. Credit: Facebook
Sabrina had said goodbye to her one-year-old son and boyfriend on Tuesday morning in Ottiginies, just outside of Brussels. She took the bus into the city, on her way to university and now had to travel a short distance by metro.
She died in the attack in Maelbeek. Her boyfriend, football player Jonathan Selemani, described her in an interview with The New York Times as "someone who was always smiling." The couple were planning to get married soon.
Janina Panasewicz (61), Polish
Janina Panasewicz. Credit: Family handout
Janina, a Polish woman who had been living in Brussels for some time, was one of the last victims to be identified from the attack on the metro.
After she was reported missing following the terrorist attack, the Polish community in Belgium did everything in its power to find out more. Still, it took a full week before the Polish government confirmed that Janina had died.
Marie Lecaille (68), Belgian
Marie Lecaille. Credit: Facebook
Marie Lecaille lived in Brussels and was a grandmother of two teenagers. She was on her way to a course when she fell victim to the attack in Maelbeek.
She was described as a "very dynamic woman," and was active as a volunteer for various welfare organisations. She was originally from the region around Couvin in Wallonia.
Raghavendran Ganeshan (31), Indian
Raghavendran Ganeshan. Credit: Facebook
After four years in Brussels, where he worked as a software developer, Raghavendran was planning to return to India to be reunited with his wife and their young son.
In Brussels, he worked for Infosys, an IT consultancy firm. He had saved the money he earned to give his young family in India a helping hand. Raghavendran was on his way to work when he was killed in the metro attack.
Johanna Altegrim (30), Swedish
Johanna Altegrim. Credit: Facebook
Johanna lived in Brussels and worked as an illustrator. She created very colourful, playful and imaginative drawings, which were primarily used in children’s books, magazines and posters.
In a tribute on Facebook, people who had collaborated with Johanna described her as "someone who had set herself the wonderful goal of touching people – especially children – with the message that they could do anything their heart desired."
After her death, her friends and colleagues organised a fundraiser to publish a book featuring all her drawings.
Lauriane Visart de Bocarme (27), Belgian
Lauriane Visart de Bocarme. Credit: Facebook
A few hours after the attacks, the family of 27-year-old Lauriane received a phone call from her employer, the French-speaking socialist health insurance fund. "She had not turned up and her colleagues were worried," said her father Michel, who is a journalist at RTBF.
It was not until three days later that the family were officially informed that she was one of the victims of the bomb attack on the Brussels metro.
Mélanie Defize (29), Belgian
Mélanie Defize. Credit: Facebook
Mélanie worked at the independent music label Cypres Records in Brussels. On the day of the attacks, she took the metro to work and never arrived.
"She had a very sweet personality," producer Camille De Rijck said in an interview with The New York Times. "But at the same time, she was not afraid to stand up to artists. And that is how she earned their respect."
Johan Van Steen (58), Belgian
Johan Van Steen. Credit: Sociale media
Every day, Johan took the metro to work at the Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport. "Our only consolation is that we know our son loved his work. So he died on his way to something he was looking forward to," his father said.
Originally from Opdorp (East Flanders), he had been living with his partner in Beersel, just outside of Brussels, for some time. The couple had no children. "His partner Kristin was the love of his life," his father said.
In 2018, two years after the attacks, Kristin published a book featuring her poems and his photographs.
