THE HAGUE: The wife of Dutch ambassador to Lebanon Jan Waltmans has died of wounds sustained in the Beirut bomb explosion, the Netherlands’ foreign ministry said on Saturday.

“It is with dismay and great sadness that we report the death of our colleague Hedwig Waltmans-Molier. She succumbed to injuries sustained in the massive explosion in Beirut,” a ministry statement said.

Waltmans-Molier was hit by debris from the explosion shortly after returning back to Lebanon from holiday with her husband of 38 years.

“Hedwig was standing in her living room next to her husband when she was hit, sheerly by bad lack, by the explosion,” the ministry said.

The 55-year-old was the only Dutch citizen reported to have died from the explosion that rocket Beirut on Tuesday, killing at least 154 and devastating swathes of the capital.

Five other Dutch citizens were slightly injured, the ministry said.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2020