Brussels Terror Attacks

Patricia Rizzo
Patricia Rizzo, an Italian national, born on 11 January 1968 died 22 March 2016 (age 48) at explosion in the metro station Maelbeek in the Brussels.

She graduated from the Institut supérieur de secrétariat de direction et tourisme (ECSEDI) in Brussels, started her career in 1988 in Belgium as an executive secretary for several companies.

In 1995, she joined the EU institutions. At the European Training Foundation (ETF) in Turin, Italy, she worked as a human resources assistant. From 2003 to 2008, she worked as assistant to the Executive Director of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in Parma.

In 2008, Patricia moved back to Brussels to work for the EU's Education, Audiobooks visual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) as a human resources assistant. Since October 2015, she has worked for the European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA) as the assistant to the Head of Human resources

Survivors
Mark Beamish (age 35), a European Parliament worker, suffered cuts and burns at explosion at explosion in the metro station Maelbeek in the Brussels. He could not remember the moment of the blast or its aftermath. But he could recall being taken to an office building by a stranger.

María Gloria Arana Sáez (European Commission) injured at explosion at explosion in the metro station Maelbeek in the Brussels.

DG MARE
DG MARE was one of the DGs most affected by the bomb at the Maelbeek metro station. Many staff heard the explosion and almost everyone who was in the building at the time heard the screams of those coming out of the metro. A few minutes later the building was evacuated and we ran out to the street where we witnessed a chaotic situation. In the entrance of the MARE building there were already wounded people and blood all over the floor. Outside, people were lying on the ground injured and others had stopped to help them. Many of us felt impotent, like watching a movie. We followed the instructions of the guards to move away from the building. But some of our colleagues who are trained in first aid started bringing people inside and helped cover their wounds, cool the burns or just reassure them. When the medical teams arrived there were more than 10 people lying wounded in the ground floor meeting room and our courageous colleagues had done everything they could with the few means they had available. Among the wounded were two of our own colleagues, one of whom is seven months pregnant. They are in stable condition and we are all thinking of them and wishing them the best. The rest of us each have their own story of how they wandered around not knowing what to do, how to get in touch with their loved ones and what was going on and if more was going to come. A bunch of other colleagues who stayed close to the building managed to get back inside and then started contacting all staff to find out whether they were safe. With many people on holiday or away from the office this task was really difficult and agonising when people could not be reached by phone because of network problems. Finally, after everyone was accounted for we received a message from our Commissioner who gave us all the latest information.

The day after these horrific events those of us who arrived in the office in the morning saw a semblance of calm and order. The pavement had been washed and the floor in the building was also clean. We huddled together in small groups exchange stories and comforting words. The one minute of silence for the victims was a sobering moment and at that gathering our Director-General, João Aguiar Machado gave us news about our two colleagues. Later that day, there was an emotional debriefing session held in the same room where the wounded had been cared for. The psychological support team heard many of our colleagues recount their experiences, their reactions and the feelings and trauma they are experiencing in the aftermath of what happened. It was there that we also heard about the heroic acts of our “sécuristes”. It was there also that we realised how much solidarity and closeness there is between people who work next to each other every day and who in times of crisis really feel these bonds become stronger than ever. We hope that we will never live through anything like this again and we wish that all those whose lives have been so senselessly changed forever can recover with time.