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A Peruvian chef and mother of two was the first publicly identified victim of Tuesday's terrorist attacks in the Belgian capital.
Adelma Tapia Ruiz, 36, was traveling from Brussels to New York with her twin 3-year-old daughters, Maureen and Alondra, when a pair of blasts rocked Brussels Airport, according to the New York Times. She had lived in Brussels for years.
At least 31 people died in the attacks on Brussels Airport and the Maelbeek Metro station. Authorities estimate more than 200 other people suffered injuries.
"She was a very active woman," Lady Sidney Jouany, a friend of Ruiz's, told the New York Times. "I'm still in shock. At first I thought it was someone else, and it took time to understand how this could have happened to her and how close to home it has hit."
Ruiz's brother, Fernando Tapia Coral, confirmed his sister's death in a Facebook post.
"It's very complicated to describe this pain that we're feeling at home," he wrote. "This tragedy today touched the doors of my family this morning in Brussels Airport, when my sister Adelma Tapia died in the terrorist attack and was not able to survive this jihadist attack that we'll never understand."
Speaking with the New York Times, Coral said his nieces were playing at the airport while Ruiz's husband, Christopher Delcambe, followed, when an explosion rocked the airport.
"Christopher couldn't find her," he said.
Delcambe and Maureen were injured in the blast and hospitalized, the New York Times reported.
On Wednesday, authorities announced they were still searching for a suspect in the bombings, seen in CCTV footage from Brussels Airport. Officials said two brothers, Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui, acted as suicide bombers in the attacks.
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