Frédéric Erens became trapped in a toilet cubicle in the Flemish Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday evening after the door lock broke. Because he had left his phone on his desk, he could not call for help. He was found at 6 a.m. on Wednesday by a cleaner and taken to hospital for treatment after suffering from a lack of oxygen.

(Staff: Belgium / Politics & Society)

An unusual incident took place in the Flemish Parliament in Brussels, where Frédéric Erens, an MP from the Vlaams Belang party, remained trapped for 13 hours in a toilet cubicle. According to reports published by the Belgian press, it happened on Tuesday evening after a meeting. When he wanted to leave the toilet and go home, the door would not open because a spring in the locking mechanism had broken.

The phone, deliberately left on his desk

The situation was made worse by the fact that Erens had deliberately left his smartphone on his desk to take a break from the device. Without his phone, he could not call for help. Most of his colleagues had already gone home, and his shouts and banging on the door were not heard by the people who remained in the building.

Lack of oxygen and holes made in the door

During the night, the situation became increasingly difficult. The ventilation system only operates when it detects movement, so the supply of fresh air stopped and the MP began to feel as though he was suffocating. To cope with the lack of oxygen, he used a metal object found in the toilet and made holes in the door to allow air to enter. The extremely small space did not allow him to sleep.

Rescued by a cleaner

His ordeal ended on Wednesday morning, at around 6:00 a.m., when a cleaner noticed him. As she could not unlock the door from the outside, military police security personnel intervened with a crowbar to break the door open.

Taken to hospital

After being freed, Erens was taken by ambulance to Sint-Jan Hospital for treatment following the lack of oxygen. He recovered quickly, but expressed frustration that the staff at the hospital reception did not speak Dutch. He argued that, in medical emergencies, communication in one’s native language is crucial.

“I will never forget my phone again”

Back at work, the politician joked that he would probably never forget his phone again. The incident remains an unfortunate, but also somewhat comical, example of how a chain of small malfunctions and seemingly insignificant decisions can lead to an extremely dangerous situation.