Highwood Man was at Brussels Airport During Terror Attacks

A Highwood man was among those at the Brussels airport early Tuesday morning when terrorists carried out an attack that has left at least 30 dead.

James Fischer, 31, was on his way to the Congo in Africa for a mission trip with the Evangelical Covenant Church and was in a terminal awaiting a connecting flight in Brussels, according to the Chicago Tribune. He remembers hearing sirens and an announcement to evacuate.

“It was pretty horrifying,” said Fischer, a director of economic development for the church who had planned to help build a hydroelectric dam to power a local hospital in the Congo.

"The woman who I ran out right behind had debris in her hair, and a lot of people were visibly shaken up.”

Fischer was one of two Chicago-area residents on the way to Africa for a mission project with the church. A Wheaton woman, Catherine Knarr, was also there at the time.

The travelers were taken via bus to a Red Cross shelter. As of Wednesday in Brussels, they were still awaiting word on if the trip to Africa was still on. 

More via the Chicago Tribune