The father of a man wounded in the terrorist attack at the Brussels Airport says he's grateful his son survived and hopeful he has a speedy recovery.
Sebastien Bellin was among the Americans injured during Tuesday's bombings of the Brussels airport and subway that killed 31 people and wounded more than 270.
His father, Jean Bellin, spoke with NBC4 about what the last 30 hours have been like for his son, a former pro basketball player who was traveling for a video company, heading home to Michigan where he lives with his wife and two children.
"I spoke to him this morning," said Jean Bellin, who lives in San Clemente. "Obviously he's in pain."
For the first six hours after the bombing Jean Bellin didn't know if his son was going to survive.
All he had was a news photo of the 37 year old injured on the ground at the Brussels Airport.
"I could see he appeared to be alive and OK," his father said.
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Then he connected with him by telephone.
"After a pause he said, 'Dad, you wouldn't believe what I saw around me. I'm a lucky one.'"
A bullet in the buttocks knocked him to the floor. More shrapnel flew over his head. It's only one reason why he got out of the airport attack alive.
"Somebody had dragged him away from the main area where the ceiling was falling, fell during the blast and that really saved his life, otherwise he would have been torn to pieces and then crushed," his father said.
His father says Sebastien Bellin has lived all over the world, speaks three languages and is a peaceful person. Jean Bellin questions what he calls religious extremists and those who might profit from violence.
"Yes terrorists are a problem everywhere. You have extremists in this country already. It's not that they're coming ... they're here," he said.
Bellin calls his son is an inspiration, at 6 foot 9, a lifetime athlete and now a witness to event that made the world even smaller.
