Wife of Dutch ambassador killed in Beirut blast

'Beloved' Hedwig Waltmans-Molier, the wife of the Netherlands' ambassador to Lebanon, died from her injuries sustained during the Beirut explosion
2 min read
Hedwig Waltmans-Molier was killed in Tuesday's blast [Twitter]
The Dutch foreign ministry has said that the wife of the Netherlands’ ambassador to Lebanon has died of injuries she sustained in the massive blast that hit Beirut earlier this week.

Hedwig Waltmans-Molier died Saturday morning at age 55. She worked for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs alongside her husband, Jan Waltmans. The couple had two adult children.

The ministry says that Waltmans-Molier, who worked in the human resources department of the embassy, "was standing in the living room next to Jan and by sheer bad luck was hit by the explosion.”

The family had recently returned to Beirut after a holiday.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag expressed their condolences to the family and paid tribute to Waltmans-Molier in a joint statement.

“We are deeply saddened by the untimely death of our colleague Hedwig Waltmans-Molier as a result of the huge explosion in Beirut. Our thoughts are with her husband, their children and other family members. Our sympathy goes out to them and we wish them every strength to cope with this great loss."

"The staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are committed to working for the Netherlands worldwide, also in demanding, difficult or dangerous circumstances. Hedwig exemplified this in both her professional and her personal life. She was beloved by her colleagues and she will be very much missed. Her death is a loss for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for the country,” the statement added.

The current death toll of the devastating blast stands at 154, with over 5,000 injured. The health ministry on Saturday said that 60 people were still missing.

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