NYC siblings confirmed dead in Brussels bombing
Alexander and Sascha Pinczowski had been missing since the terrorist attack Tuesday.
Two New York City siblings were among the victims of the terrorist bombings in Brussels this week, their family said.
Belgian authorities and the Dutch Embassy confirmed that Alexander and Sascha Pinczowski died in Tuesday's attacks at the airport and subway station in Brussels, their family said in a statement. The attacks killed 31 people and injured nearly 300.
The statement was released Friday by former U.S. ambassador to Denmark James Cain on behalf of the Pinczowski family. Cain's daughter, Cameron Cain, was engaged to Alexander Pinczowski.
The family is "grateful to have closure on this tragic situation, and are thankful for the thoughts and prayers from all," James Cain said. "The family is in the process of making arrangements."
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Officials in the Netherlands said the siblings were Dutch nationals. The Pinczowskis were at the Brussels airport to board a flight home to New York.
Alexander, 29, was on the phone with his mother in Holland when the phone went dead. He had traveled to Holland to work on a craft-related business that he and Cameron were going to start together, James Cain said.
The couple met six years ago while taking summer courses in Durham, North Carolina. They hadn't set a wedding date but had planned to marry within the year, James Cain said.
Alexander was "intimidatingly smart, a brilliant young man," he said, adding that both siblings had hoped to obtain U.S. citizenship one day.
Alexander and Sascha, 26, lived in Manhattan, according to their Facebook profiles. Sascha wrote that she was a native of Vouliagmeni, Greece. She was a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College who spoke five languages and worked last year as a production intern for Shiraz Events, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Shiraz Events President Shai Tertner called Sascha "a bright, hardworking young woman, with a great career ahead of her."
Friends and family had taken to social media this week to seek information on the fate of the siblings who had been missing since Tuesday morning's attacks. UNICEF USA,among those sharing the news, said on Facebook Wednesday that Sascha was a former intern for the Manhattan-based organization.
A family friend, Adina Dianne Greenberg, wrote in a Facebook post early Friday that she was "heartbroken" for her friend, Marjan Pinczowski-Fasbender, the siblings' mother.
"There are just no words," Greenberg wrote. "I am overwhelmed with the sorrow and grief I feel over their loss, but I can't even imagine how Ed, Marjan, and Alex's fiance Cameron must be feeling and coping. My heart utterly breaks for them, and I wish there was something I could do to ease their pain."
Brandon Paul wrote in a Facebook post Thursday night that he was friends with Sascha.
"Please keep the Pinczowski family in your thoughts and prayers," he said. "This has been heartbreaking for myself and my elementary/middle school friends from FIS (Frankfurt International School), who continue to act as an amazing support group for each other even though we live all over the world."
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement he was "deeply saddened to learn of the deaths of Sascha and Alexander Pinczowski in the horrific Brussels attack. Two young siblings from our city were taken from us far too soon, and our hearts break for the family and friends of Sascha and Alexander.
"New York City has shown time and again that we will not succumb to the threat of terrorism, and we will not live in fear," he said. "Today we vow to continue standing up for freedom and democracy in honor of those we have lost."
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New Yorkers were saddened to learn of the Pinczowskis' deaths and offered his condolences to their family.
"Their lives were cut short by cowards who have chosen extremism and hate instead of peace and unity," he said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Twitter: @MattSpillane