Belgian MP trapped in parliament toilet for 13 hours after lock breaks

A Belgian far-right MP spent nearly 13 hours trapped overnight in a toilet at the Flemish Parliament in Brussels after the lock on the door malfunctioned.

Frédéric Erens, a 58-year-old Vlaams Belang parliamentarian representing Flemish Brabant and a municipal councillor in Keerbergen, was freed early Wednesday morning and taken to hospital for checks related to oxygen deprivation.

The incident occurred on Tuesday evening.

After a meeting in the House of the Flemish Representatives (an annex building where party groups have offices), Erens went to the toilet around 5 PM before heading home.

When he tried to leave, a component of the lock—a spring, according to reports—broke, jamming the door shut.

“A part broke off and I couldn’t get out,” Erens later told VRT.

Crucially, he had left his phone on his desk for the first time.

“For once I left my phone on my desk. I thought that was very silly. I wanted to leave my screen behind for once and just then I needed it,” he said.

With colleagues already gone and the building largely empty, Erens shouted and banged on the door, but no one heard him.

He hoped a security guard on a final round might pass, yet none did.

“You think that sooner or later someone will come. Preferably sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, no one came any more. I sat there for thirteen hours. It’s not exactly comfortable, as you can imagine,” he recounted.

The situation grew more serious because the toilet’s ventilation system activates only via motion sensors, and the fire-rated doors severely limit airflow.

Fresh air supply soon stopped.

Feeling the effects of reduced oxygen, Erens improvised.

“I had to play MacGyver. With a metal object I found in the toilets, I made two holes in the door, one at the top and one at the bottom, so that oxygen could come in,” he explained to Het Laatste Nieuws and other outlets.

“Those spaces are not made to stay in for 13 hours,” he added with a laugh.
Around 6 AM on Wednesday, a member of the cleaning staff entered the area and discovered him.

She could not open the door from the outside.

A military police officer providing security then forced it open with a crowbar.

Erens was taken by ambulance to Saint-Jean Hospital in Brussels for evaluation after appearing dazed from the lack of oxygen.

He was released after a brief check and is reported to be fine.

Reflecting on the ordeal, Erens has already found humour in it. “Maybe something for the Guinness World Records,” he quipped, noting he would now catch up on sleep and is unlikely to leave his phone behind again when using the facilities.

The Flemish Parliament confirmed the “regrettable incident,” describing it as “a particularly unfortunate combination of circumstances.”

Officials noted that, as far as known, no previous technical problems had occurred with the toilet door locks. They pledged a technical investigation and measures to prevent any recurrence.