New York terror attack: “State of a couple from Wilrijk still very critical“
The Uzbek terrorist Sayfullo Saipov who drove his truck over the length of one and a half kilometres on a cycling path along the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan killed eight people: five Argentinians, two Americans and one Belgian lady. He also injured another twelve persons, among which three Belgians.
The Belgian couple from Wilrijk who became severely injured in the attack is still in the hospital. Their condition remains critical. The doctors have now also had to amputate the second leg of the woman.
Meanwhile, the names of the family have become known. Marion Van Reeth (54) works as marketing manager for Brussels Airlines. Her husband Aristide Melissas (47) is CEO of a family company from Borsbeek. They were on holiday with their son Daryl (16) and a nephew.
Van Reeth, dedicated to ‘Bike For Africa’ – an organisation that collects money for charities – did nothing better than cycling. For example, she ran through Rwanda and Burundi in 2011 but also travelled on a bicycle trip through Uganda, Senegal and Gambia. Just a short bike ride on holiday with her family last Tuesday became almost fatal. After one of her legs was amputated earlier this week, doctors knew that her second leg could no longer be saved. Her husband ran a heavy brain trauma and was immediately operated. He is still in critical condition at the hospital. Their son got mild injuries on head and neck, a nephew of the family remained unharmed but was in shock.
The “Bike for Africa” web page on Marion
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