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Sebastien Bellin: Former Pro Basketball Player Talks Brussels Airport Bomb Attack, His Daughters, And Survival On CBS ’48 Hours’

By Traciy Reyes
Published on: 00:32 PST, Nov 24, 2016

Sebastien Bellin reads to his daughters in the preview for this week’s 48 Hours episode. Bellin was injured earlier this year in the bomb attack, which occurred at an airport in Brussels, Belgium. Luckily, the former pro basketball player survived. If he hadn’t, there would have been no chance to raise his precious daughters. The episode that is covering Sebastien Bellin’s case is called “The Long Road.” The athlete has definitely had a long road to recovery but a road that he is blessed to have traveled due to his survival. On the 48 Hours episode, you’ll hear Sebastien Bellin tell his own compelling story, along with his wife, Sara. His daughters will also be a part of Saturday night’s show.

48 Hours: “The Long Road” Episode on CBS

When Sebastien Bellin arrived at an airport in Brussels, it was like any other normal day. The lady behind the counter thanked him, he retrieved his receipt, and then turned around to see a chaotic and unrecognizable scene. Confused, Bellin didn’t understand what had just happened, but he knew that if the airport was in shambles, something terrible had occurred. According to New York Daily News, he stated the following.

“I remember seeing a first explosion at the pharmacy at the airport, and I turned my head and I saw all these people running… I think I blacked out a little bit.”

Shortly after he made that realization, Sebastien Bellin’s legs and hip gave out, leaving him in a collapsed state on the airport floor. In the story for 48 Hours, Sebastien says he remembered looking down at his hip and his badly injured legs. Moments later, an African man dragged him to a safer part of the airport and propped his bleeding legs up on some luggage. Both acts saved his life.

But there was something else. His strong will to live, his inner determination, and 15 years of discipline on how to push his limits, are what helped the basketball player survive. In the preview for CBS 48 Hours, Sebastien Bellin said that at one point as he lay dying, he looked up at the ceiling, focused on one area, and then fought like hell to live. Constantly thinking of his two daughters, he couldn’t imagine not being in their lives. Dying and leaving them wasn’t an option for Sebastien Bellin, according to CBS News.

Reflecting on the many times that he has told his daughters that monsters aren’t real, Sebastien Bellin realized that there are some real-life monsters among us, namely the terrorist bomb attackers who had planned these suicide missions.

What Bellin didn’t know as he was fighting for his life on the floor of that airport was that all of this had been part of a planned and strategic attack. Three bombs went off that day, in two different locations. Another one was planned but Belgium police were able to prevent a further attack. In all, over 30 people were killed, including the three bombers, and 300 people were severely injured, including Sebastien Bellin.

The five attackers involved in the Brussels airport bombing are as follows. (via Metro)

  • 29-year-old Ibrahim El Bakraoui
  • 24-year-old Najim Laachraoui
  • 32-year-old Mohamed Abrini
  • 27-year-old Khalid El Bakraoui
  • 24-year-old Osama Krayem

Some Highlights of Sebastien Bellin’s Story (via Daily Mail)

  • 37-year-old Sebastien Bellin was one of 300 people injured in the Brussels attacks

  • The former basketball player said a blast threw his body “like a feather pillow.”

  • Bellin, the father-of-two, said he didn’t want his girls ‘to grow up without a dad.

  • Sebastien Bellin, who is from Michigan, has spent the last 41 days in a Belgium hospital.

  • The devoted father had not seen daughters Cecilia, 7, and Vanessa, 4 in all that time.

  • The family was reunited in a touching moment in hospital.

CBS 48 Hours’ coverage will delve into the motive behind the vicious attacks. 48 Hours will also follow Sebastien Bellin’s progress since his dramatic recovery. Tune into 48 Hours this Saturday, November 26, at 10 p.m. on CBS. Three weeks ago, Inquisitr reported on the story of Shelley Mook, which also aired on 48 Hours.

[Featured Image by Helene Franchineau/AP File]

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