Brussels attacks: Missing Infosys employee confirmed dead

Phone records placed him at the Montgomery metro station, just before 9 a.m. The Maelbeek blast, four stops away occurred at about 9:11 am.

The Infosys employee who was reported missing after the Brussels attacks, Raghavendran Ganeshan, has been confirmed dead, Manjeev Singh Puri, India’s Ambassador to Belgium and the EU, told the press.

Blasts at Zaventem airport and the Malbeek metro station killed more than 30 people from some 40 countries. The Belgian authorities identified him as a victim on Monday and his remains are being handed over to his parents and brother, who are here in Brussels.

They will then be transferred to Schiopol International Airport in Amsterdam from where they will be flown to India, Mr. Puri said. “For our embassy, it’s a very sad day. We were always hoping there could be a miracle. That was not to be,” Mr. Puri told the press.” Our deepest condolences to the family of Raghavendran Ganesan and we pray for all the members of the family,” he said.

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.