3 Mormon missionaries from Utah injured in Brussels attack

SALT LAKE CITY — Mormon church officials say three missionaries from Utah were seriously injured in the Brussels airport terrorist attack.

At least 31 people were killed and nearly 190 wounded Tuesday after bombs went off in the Brussels airport.

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.

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.

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.

The Mormon mission president in France, Frederic Babin, is speaking out about the Brussels airport bombing attack on Tuesday that injured four missionaries, including three from Utah.

President Frederic Babin said in an official church video that they are being cared for and that others have been asked to stay in their homes.

Babin said the church has provided safety rules for all missionaries working in France and Belgium, following a series of coordinated attacks that hit Paris last November.

The France-based church leader also said the missionaries will still continuing working, as expected, to preach the gospel.

The 20-year-old missionary, Fanny Rachel Clain, is from Montelimar, France.

It’s unclear if her U.S.-bound flight took off.

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 Ohio.

A statement from Utah Gov. Gary Herbert on Tuesday offered support to the families of men.

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.”