A father who ran a fish business and his son have been identified as two of the victims of the huge fire that struck a warehouse in the Brussels borough of Anderlecht at the weekend.
Amine and his father, who both hail from the borough of Ganshoren in Brussels, lost their lives in Anderlecht on Saturday. The father ran a fish wholesale business and was well known in the local community, Khadija El Mahyaoui, chair of the Ganshoren Social Welfare Centre, confirms.
On Monday, the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office said the severe fire on the Maurice Herbettelaan had claimed at least two lives. The victims are Amine Bakkali, a young man in his twenties, and his father.
‘Their family is well known and loved in the community,’ El Mahyaoui told Brussels media outlet Bruzz. The father ran a fish wholesale business. ‘On Saturday, he was working in the warehouse with his son. He had a cold storage facility there for the fish he sold.’
According to El Mahyaoui, Amine was waiting in the car when the fire broke out. His father was still inside the building. “Amine texted his family to say he was going to look for his father. Sadly, that was the last they heard from him.”
Meanwhile, numerous messages of support for the family have appeared on social media. El Mahyaoui has also paid them a visit. “A great many people are expressing their condolences,” she says. “The loss is very hard on the family. They are overcome with grief.”
No public memorial service has been planned as yet. “But if we receive a request for one, we will give it our full attention,” the local mayor told Bruzz.
Search continues
The investigation into the fire is now in full swing as there are fears further victims have yet to be found.