These Are The Lives Tragically Cut Short In Brussels

The city's mayor says it will take time to identify all of the attack victims.
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Information about the 32 people who died after terrorists detonated bombs inside the Brussels airport and a metro station began to emerge late Tuesday and early Wednesday.

There were about 40 nationalities among the dead and wounded, said Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders.

Among the victims are a Peruvian-Belgian mother of two, who was preparing to board a flight to New York City to visit her mother, and a Belgian law student who was boarding the metro.

Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur said the identification process would likely be lengthy, given the chaotic nature of the situation.

Below are those who have been identified by friends, relatives, employers and universities in news reports and on social media.

Adelma Marina Tapia Ruíz, 37
TeleSur Peru
Ruíz died at the Brussels Airport, the Peruvian government announced on Twitter. She was on her way to New York to visit her mother with her twin daughters, The New York Times reported. Although one daughter and her husband were injured, she was the only one in her family to be killed. “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. “But even more incomprehensible is not being able to be close to her." "I'll always remember you with that smile," a friend wrote in tribute on Facebook.
Olivier Delespesse
Facebook
Delespesse died Tuesday in the attack on the Brussels metro, the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, where he worked, confirmed Wednesday on Facebook. Several friends posted Facebook statuses on Tuesday indicating that he had gone missing. He used the Maelbeek metro stop every morning, one friend wrote, and his office called to say he hadn't shown up at work. Colleagues paid tribute to him on Wednesday, evoking his kindness and his smile.
Léopold Hecht, 20
Léopold Hecht/Facebook
Hecht died from his injuries after being present during the Maelbeek metro bombing, the Université Saint-Louis in Brussels confirmed Wednesday. He was studying law. He was hospitalized shortly after the attack, his brother wrote on Facebook. Classmates mourned his death Wednesday, NBC News reported, calling him "brilliant" and "kind."
Sascha Pinczowski
Sascha Pinczowski/Facebook
Pinczowski and her brother Alexander died at Brussels Airport, a family friend told several news outlets. Friends also confirmed the news on Facebook. Loved ones and friends declared them missing after they hadn't heard from them and asked for help in locating them.

Pinczowski was Greek, according to her Facebook page, and was also a Dutch citizen, CBS News reported. She lived in New York City and her likely employer, an event planning company, described Pinczowski as a "bright, hardworking young woman, with a great career ahead of her." Her friends say she was "amazing" with a "beautiful soul."
Alexander Pinczowski
Facebook
Pinczowski and his sister Sascha were preparing to fly back to New York City where they both lived, when the explosion happened, The Washington Post reported. He was on the phone with his mother, who heard explosions on the other line before the call dropped, the Associated Press confirmed.Friends described Pinczowski as a "foodie, who loved dogs, traveling, [New York], and making fun of Fox News." He was engaged to Cameron Cain, daughter of Jim Cain, the former U.S. ambassador to Denmark.
Bart Migom, 21
Bart Migom/Facebook
Migom died during the attacks and was formally identified on Tuesday night, his university confirmed on Facebook Wednesday. Migom was a student at Howest, a school in Brugge, northwest Belgium, where he studied marketing. He was traveling to the U.S. to visit his girlfriend, CNN reported. He had last sent her a text message on his way to the airport.
Loubna Lafquiri
Carlton Marshall/Facebook
Lafquiri died in the metro, her siblings announced on Facebook. She was a mother of "three magnificent boys," they wrote, a teacher and a sister devoted to her community. She worked at an Islamic school and never showed up to work on Tuesday, CNN reported. The school's co-founder called her an "exceptional woman" who "smiled all the time."
David Dixon (right), 51
The Northern Echo
Dixon died on Tuesday in Brussels, where he lived with his partner and son, the British Foreign Office confirmed. He had contacted his family after bombs went off in the airport to tell them he was safe but was not heard from after that, BBC News reported. He was originally from northern England but worked as an IT contractor near the Maelbeek metro station. British Prime Minister David Cameron offered his condolences on social media Friday.

A friend described Dixon, known as "Did," as being "the life and soul of the party, always the first to get up and dance, always a laugh, a dry wit and very intelligent," according to The Northern Echo. He, his partner Charlotte Sutcliffe and their 7-year-old son had lived in Brussels for about 10 years.
Elita Weah, 41
The New York Times
Weah was at Brussels Airport, preparing to travel to Rhode Island and attend her stepfather's funeral when she died, The New York Times reported. This photo was taken of her at the airport on Tuesday, according to the Times. The Liberian Embassy in Brussels confirmed her death on Friday. The Liberia-born Weah lived in Deventer in the Netherlands. A 13-year-old daughter survives her. "May your soul rest in perfect peace our beloved Mom and Sister," a relative wrote on Facebook.
Justin Shults, 30
LinkedIn
American Justin Shults was confirmed to be among the victims by his employer and a relative on Saturday. The 30-year-old, originally from Tennessee, moved to Belgium in 2014 with his wife, Stephanie, who also died in the March 22 attacks. They were at Brussels airport waving off Stephanie's mother when the bombs went off. Earlier this week, officials told the couple's relatives they had been found, only to retract it later.

Shults was "intelligent, kind and loyal," Clarcor, the filtration company where he worked as an accountant, said in a statement. "I never met a single person who didn't like him," Shults' brother Levi Sutton wrote on Twitter. "He traveled the world leaving each destination better than when he arrived."
Stephanie Shults, 29
Handout . / Reuters
American Stephanie Shults, the wife of Justin, was confirmed to be among the victims by her employer and a relative on Saturday. Stephanie, from Lexington, Kentucky, moved to Belgium with her husband in 2014. They were waving goodbye to Stephanie's mom at the Brussels airport when it was rocked by explosions. "Stephanie was always so happy. I really enjoyed any chance I got to be around her. The world lost two amazing people today," Justin's brother Levi Sutton said.
Patricia Rizzo, 48
Corriere Della Serra
Rizzo died at the Maelbeek station, the Italian Embassy in Brussels confirmed March 25. "It's tough... but at least now we are at peace after an interminable race against the clock to find her," Rizzo's cousin, who lives in Brussels, wrote on Facebook. "I miss you, we miss you... I love you."
Fabienne Vansteenkiste, 51
Fabienne Vansteenkiste/Facebook
Vansteenkiste died at the airport, her children confirmed. She was a baggage handler and had just finished her shift when the bombs exploded, the BBC said. She leaves behind several children and grandchildren. "All I want is to give you a hug and to smell your scent [and] hear your voice," one of her children wrote on Facebook. "Your kindness and compassion towards the rest of the world was unique," another wrote.
Lauriane Visart, 27
Etienne Visart/Facebook
Visart died at the Maelbeek metro stop, which was a part of her daily commute, Belgian authorities told her family on March 25. Her father, RTBF journalist Michel Visart, told the Belgian TV channel that he received a call from his daughter's office the morning of the attacks, saying she'd never arrived at work. Co-workers kept trying to reach her, he said, but they never received an answer. "It's an indescribable suffering," he said.

Lauriane was a jurist, her father said, and he hopes she will be remembered for the strong values she always defended, like equality and tolerance. "She was always smiling and bursting with enthusiasm," the Catholic University of Louvain, her alma mater, wrote on Facebook.
Sabrina Fazal, 24
Sabrina Fazal/Facebook
Fazal was on her way to nursing school the morning of March 22 when she was killed at the Maelbeek metro, her boyfriend, Jonathan Selemani, confirmed to The New York Times. They had a son, whom her boyfriend called "the center of her life." Selemani said that Fazal, who was of Congolese descent, often cooked Congolese meals for friends and was always laughing.
Raghavendran Ganesh
Sushma Swaraj/Twitter
Belgian authorities have identified Ganesh as one of the victims, the Indian Embassy in Belgium announced on March 28, and his remains are being transported to India from Amsterdam. Ganesh (named in some reports as Ganeshan) was traveling on the metro at the time of the attacks, India's Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said on Twitter. He was an Infosys employee from the city of Bangalore.

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