The wife of Dutch ambassador to Lebanon Jan Waltmans has died of wounds sustained in the Beirut bomb explosion, the Netherlands’ foreign ministry said Saturday.
“It is with dismay and great sadness that we report the death of our colleague Hedwig Waltmans-Molier. She succumbed to injuries sustained in the massive explosion in Beirut,” a ministry statement said.
Waltmans-Molier was hit by debris from the explosion shortly after returning back to Lebanon from holiday with her husband of 38 years.
“Hedwig was standing in her living room next to her husband when she was hit, sheerly by bad lack, by the explosion,” the ministry said.
The 55-year-old was the only Dutch citizen reported to have died from the explosion that rocked Beirut on Tuesday, killing at least 154 and devastating swathes of the capital.
Five other Dutch citizens were slightly injured, the ministry said.
Trump Says Will Join Beirut Donor Conference Call
POTUS Donald Trump said Friday that he would take part in an international conference call for donors organizing aid for Lebanon after the giant explosion in Beirut.
Trump, who talked earlier with the conference’s organizer French President Emmanuel Macron, tweeted that “everyone wants to help!”
“We will be having a conference call on Sunday with President Macron, leaders of Lebanon, and leaders from various other parts of the world,” he said.
The catastrophic blast at Beirut’s port killed more than 150 and devastated swaths of the city, as rescuers continue to desperately comb the rubble for survivors.
Officials have said a huge shipment of hazardous ammonium nitrate had languished for years in a warehouse at the port and somehow caught fire, leading to Tuesday’s earth-shaking blast.
Lebanon’s hospitals, already strained by rising coronavirus cases and a severe economic crisis, were heavily damaged by the blast and overwhelmed by casualties.
The World Health Organization has called for $15 million to cover immediate health needs.
The United Nations said up to 100,000 children are among the 300,000 people made homeless, including many who have been separated from their families.
Relief flights from Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates landed in Lebanon on Friday, following others from France, Kuwait, Qatar and Russia.
Trump said three US planes loaded with supplies were on the way to Lebanon, as were first responders and medical workers.
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