Patricia Rizzo, an Italian
official for a European Commission agency, is among the missing
people after Tuesday's Islamist terror attack at the Maalbeek
station of the Brussels metro, ANSA sources said on Wednesday.
The woman's family and friends are looking for her in
hospitals in the city, her cousin Massimo Leonora said on
Facebook, asking for assistance in finding Rizzo.
"We're been here since this morning and we still don't know
anything," Leonora told ANSA, speaking from the burns unit of
Queen Astrid Military Hospital.
"The police asked Patricia's parents to fill out a
form...they are looking for identifying marks".
Earlier on Wednesday, the Italian foreign ministry said it
is highly likely an Italian national is among the 32 confirmed
victims.
Former transport minister Maurizio Lupi said after a
meeting of party whips at Premier Matteo Renzi's office
Wednesday that the government was trying to verify whether an
Italian woman was killed in the attacks.
So far 32 civilians are confirmed dead and another 270
wounded, many of them severely.
Three suicide bombers also died.
"The premier informed us that verification of a possible
Italian victim is taking place," Lupi told reporters.
"(The possible victim is) a woman who went missing. The
phase of identification (of the body) is underway. The family is
with the consul in Brussels. (Rizzo) normally took the metro...
but the violence of the explosion has made the victims
unrecognizable".
Also on Wednesday, foreign ministry sources said Rizzo's
family is being assisted by the Italian embassy in Brussels for
the recognition of what may be her remains.
The attacks were carried out with explosives packed with
nails to inflict maximum bodily harm.
Rizzo served as a manager at the Parma-based European Food
Safety Authority (EFSA) from 2003-2008.
"Patricia was a staffer for our two previous executive
directors," EFSA Media Relations Officer Francesca Avanzini
said. "We are all worried about her".
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