Infosys employee, Raghavendran Ganeshan, >who went missing in last Tuesday’s terror attacks in Brussels, has been confirmed dead, Manjeev Singh Puri, India’s Ambassador to Belgium and the EU, told the press.
The 30-year-old, who has lived in Belgium for four years, went missing on March 22, after suicide bombers set off three bombs at Zaventem airport and on a train at Maalbeek metro station in the heart of Brussels.
Mr. Ganeshan’s last phone call was tracked to the metro. His brother, who is a student in Germany, arrived shortly after his brother went missing and was joined by their uncle and parents. The Belgian authorities, who worked through the Easter holiday weekend, confirmed that Mr. Ganeshan was among the dead, using finger print analysis and DNA tests from a cheek swab taken from his brother.
The total number of dead has crept up since last week, and currently stands at 38, including four who died of injuries in hospital.
We lost a great guy, says Ganeshan’s relative
The family of Raghavendran Ganeshan, the Infosys engineer confirmed dead in the blast at the Maalbeek metro station, has taken possession of Mr. Ganeshan’s remains and they are being escorted by the police to the Belgian border, after which they will make their way to Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam from where they are likely to fly to Chennai.
Mr. Ganeshan’s wife Vaishali Raghavendran and their child are based in India. The Hindu spoke briefly with Raghu Kumar, one of the family members accompanying the body to Schiphol. “The Embassy people and Infosys company have extended their cooperation throughout the process,” he said. “We are very unlucky, we lost a great guy.”
“For our Embassy, it’s a very sad day,” Manjeev Singh Puri, India’s Ambassador to Belgium and the EU, told the press at the Indian Embassy here.
MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said: “He was a victim of the blast that took place in the metro at Maalbeek station in Brussels.”
Infosys in a condolence message to the media said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with Raghavendran’s family and with those who were injured or lost a loved one in these attacks.”
Watch Manjeev Singh Puri's announcement here:
From earlier reports:
Indian diplomats in Brussels had been able to >trace his last telephone activity that day — he had been travelling in the Metro.
Officials had told The Hindu that telephone records of the Infosys engineer had placed him at the Montgomery metro station, just before 9 a.m.
The blast at the Maelbeek Metro Station, four stops away occurred at about 9:11 am.
Earlier, Mr. Ganeshan’s mother, who had also spoken to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that >her son had called her via Skype an hour before the explosion , and said he would be taking the metro to work shortly. Mr. Ganeshan’s wife and their infant son are in Chennai at present.
Having joined Infosys for training in Bengaluru and Pune, Mr. Ganeshan was sent to Belgium nearly four years ago to work with a telecommunications company there. His colleagues in Brussels, who were contacted by The Hindu , said the blast at the metro station was on the route he took daily for work.
Corrections and Clarifications:
This article has been edited for a factual error.
