Three Belgians per day die on holiday

Never before have there been so many Belgians deaths reported from holiday destinations abroad. Every day there are three Belgians who die while travelling, concludes Het Laatste Nieuws on Tuesday, based on figures from the national insurance companies.

The three biggest insurance companies offering travel assistance counted 115 deaths so far this year, which, when added to the numbers recorded by the smaller companies, amounts to three deaths per day. In the first weeks of the holidays, market leader Mutas saw the number of deaths abroad increase by more than half compared to last year.

According to experts, old age plays a role in the increase, with heart failure, natural death and disease as the main causes of death abroad. Traffic accidents are also greatly responsible for the spike in the number of holiday deaths, partly because more Belgians are travelling beyond the familiar, neighbouring countries.