NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo Survives Brussels Terrorist Attack: 'God Is Good'
When a terrorist attack killed 31 people in a Brussels airport Tuesday, NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo was there. Now, the former basketball star is giving God glory for his survival.
The 49-year-old Congolese American Hall of Famer took to Facebook to let people know that he was OK following reports that suicide bombers attacked the Brussels airport in the capital of Belgium, which killed 11 people there and 20 people at the Maelbeek metro.
In total, BBC reports that 300 people were injured in the attacks. While Mutombo was in the airport at the time, he was not one of those people.
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"God is good. I am in Brussels Airport with this craziness," Mutombo wrote on Facebook. "I am fine."
He echoed those sentiments when thanking people for their well wishes.
"Thank you everyone. I am safe here," he wrote. "God is good."
The former NBA All-Star center is also praying for those who were not as fortunate as he was to survive the attacks that took place Tuesday.
"I am so happy to be home safely," Mutombo wrote. "I am praying for the families of those who lost their lives."
Mutombo, who grew up in the Congo raised by his Presbyterian parents and attended Catholic schools, says God has helped him survive a number of situations for a purpose.
"God has given me so many chances to survive and to help. ... God put us here to prepare this place for the next generation," he told The Baptist Standard back in 2001. "That's our job. Raising children and helping the community, that's preparing for the next generation."
In that same interview, Mutombo, who invested millions of his own money 15 years ago to build the Hôpital Biamba Marie Mutombo in Congo, said of the project: "I put my courage to the test. Our God led me to do this. Looking at the mortality rate and the condition of living in my country, I felt I'm in a position to do this."
