19-Year-Old Mason Wells Was In Brussels, Boston And Near Paris During Terror Attacks
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Latest on the Utah Mormon missionaries injured in the Brussels attacks (all times local):
5:25 p.m.
The father of a Utah Mormon missionary seriously wounded during a bombing at the Brussels airport says his son is recovering and doing OK after surviving another major attack.
Chad Wells says his 19-year-old son, Mason Wells, was feet away from Tuesday's blast, suffering severe burns and a severed Achilles tendon. Two other Utah missionaries were seriously wounded, and French missionary with them had minor injuries.
Chad Wells says he and his son were only a block from the Boston marathon bombing in 2013. They went to watch his wife run the race. None of them was injured, but they felt the ground shake.
The younger Wells also was two hours away from Paris during a series of attacks in the city last November.
___
4 p.m.
A friend of a Mormon missionary seriously wounded during an attack on the Brussels airport says he and two other Utah natives were very close to the explosion.
Chris Lambson, a family friend of 19-year-old Mason Wells, said the blast tore Wells' Achilles tendon and caused a gash on his head. He also suffered second- and third-degree burns to the right side of his body and face.
Wells had surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.
Lambson also said Wells went to the Boston Marathon in 2013 to watch his mother compete and was a block away when bombs went off at the finish line.
Wells, who has been on his mission in Paris for 20 months, also was serving in France when a series of coordinated attacks hit the city last November.
___
1:20 p.m.
The family of a Mormon missionary from Utah who was seriously wounded in an attack on the Brussels airport says he suffered burns and shrapnel injuries but is recovering after surgery.
Court and Amber Empey say their son, Joseph Empey, is doing well after being treated for second-degree burns to his hands, face and head. They say he has come out of surgery Tuesday for shrapnel injuries to his legs.
The family said in a statement that the 20-year-old is grateful and in good spirits.
He was at the airport with 66-year-old Richard Norby and 19-year-old Mason Wells when they were wounded by an explosion. All three are from Utah and have been hospitalized.
A fourth missionary from France was in a different location at the airport and was hospitalized with minor injuries.
___
12:45 p.m.
Mormon church officials say they've found a fourth missionary who was traveling with three others who were seriously wounded in an attack on the Brussels airport.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said 20-year-old Fanny Rachel Clain from Montelimar, France, has been hospitalized with minor injuries Tuesday.
She was headed for a Cleveland, Ohio-bound flight for a missionary assignment but never made it out.
Clain was with 66-year-old Richard Norby, 20-year-old Joseph Empey and 19-year-old Mason Wells, but she was in a different location of the airport and had passed through security at the time of the explosion.
The three native Utah men serving in Paris were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Explosions at the airport and a subway station killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens.
___
10:40 a.m.
The governor of Utah is praising the three Mormon missionaries injured in the deadly attacks on the Brussels airport and subway.
A statement from Gov. Gary Herbert on Tuesday offered support to the families of 66-year-old Richard Norby, 20-year-old Joseph Empey and 19-year-old Mason Wells.
The men were serving in Paris and were seriously wounded at the Brussels airport where two explosions occurred. The attacks killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens.
Herbert praised the Utah natives as "people of faith who have forsaken everything — family, friends, school and careers — in order to share a message of hope and love with the world."
Thousands of Utah Mormons have served proselytizing missions around the world. Mormons account for as many as two-thirds of the state's population.
___
8:30 a.m.
Mormon church officials say three missionaries from Utah were seriously injured in the Brussels airport attack.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement Tuesday identifying them as 66-year-old Richard Norby of Lehi, 20-year-old Joseph Empey of Santa Clara and 19-year-old Mason Wells of Sandy.
They were near the explosion when it occurred and have been hospitalized.
The three men were serving in Paris and were at the airport with a fourth missionary who was on her way to an assignment in Cleveland, Ohio.
The 20-year-old missionary, Fanny Rachel Clain, is from Montelimar, France.
It's unclear if her U.S.-bound flight took off.
At least 31 people were killed and nearly 190 wounded Tuesday after bombs went off in the Brussels airport.
(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
