Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Mason Wells, 19, from Utah was amongst the many injured Tuesday in the Brussels attacks, after surviving both the Paris and Boston bombings.
Wells is an American Mormon missionary and was in Europe completing a two-year mission when he was standing in the departure area of the Brussels Zaventem Airport when an explosion – most likely from a suicide bomber – blew up a portion of the building. Wells, along with three other missionaries, was seriously injured.
Wells suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, a gash to the head, shrapnel injuries, and severe burns on his hands and face from the explosion.
His father Chad Wells awoke to the news of the attacks in Brussels and immediately called his son’s mission president in France, who informed him of his son’s injuries.
Chad was finally able to speak to Mason several hours later following his surgery, and said he was groggy and exhausted but recovering well.
But this wasn’t his first brush with terrorism. This past November Wells was in France when a series of coordinated terrorist attacks occurred in Paris and its northern suburb Saint-Denis. Wells was on the opposite side of the city and luckily wasn’t injured.
Remarkably, Mason and his parents were also blocks away from the Boston marathon finish line on April 15, 2013, when two pressure-cooker bombs exploded.
If surviving all three attacks could have taught Wells anything, it was clearly how to remain calm during intense situations.
A Mormon official who spoke to Mason’s parents said that “despite being on the ground and bleeding he actually had a sense of humour and remained calm through the situation.”
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