New York City Siblings Confirmed Dead After Brussels Attack

Two siblings from New York City, who were initially reported as missing, have been confirmed dead following the attacks in Brussels, a family member shared on Friday.

Alexander and Sascha Pinczowski were traveling back home to the U.S. on Tuesday when a bomb exploded in the Brussels airport. James Cain, whose daughter, Cameron, was engaged to Alexander, explained that Alexander was on the phone with his mother when the bomb went off, cutting off the call and leaving the line dead.

“We received confirmation this morning from Belgian authorities and the Dutch embassy of the positive identification of the remains of Alexander and Sascha from the terrorist bombing at the Brussels Airport,” Cain shared on behalf of the Pinczowski family. “We are grateful to have closure on this tragic situation, and are thankful for the thoughts and prayers from all. The family is in the process of making arrangements.”

Alexander was on a work-related trip in Holland making arrangements for a business he was planning on starting with Cameron. The couple met while taking summer classes in Durham, North Carolina about six years ago. They had planned on getting married within the year. Cain described Alexander as “intimidatingly smart, a brilliant young man.”

Alexander was traveling with his sister, Sascha, who recently graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in New York with a business degree. Sascha had interned with a catering company last summer called Shiraz Events. Shai Tertner, the president of Shiraz Events, described her as “a bright, hardworking young woman, with a great career ahead of her.”

The siblings, who were both Dutch nationals, hoped to obtain their U.S. citizenship one day.