Former Atlanta Hawks’ Dikembe Mutombo reacts upon seeing his retired jersey number raised to the rafters during a ceremony at halftime of an NBA basketball game between the Hawks and the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, in Atlanta. AP
LOS ANGELES, United States — NBA Hall of Fame star Dikembe Mutombo on Tuesday emotionally described the chaos of being caught up in the deadly Belgium bombings which left around 35 people dead.
The 49-year-old Congolese legend had been transiting through Zavantem Airport in Brussels when it was rocked by two explosions, possibly caused by suicide bombers, in the check-in hall.
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Mutombo, who was returning from a visit to the hospital in Kinshasa his foundation opened, told CNN he had been asleep in a passenger lounge when the airport was attacked.
“I heard people start screaming and everyone start running,” Mutombo said.
“I was napping and I was, like, what’s going on? I thought it was a joke. And a lady said, ‘Everybody out, everybody out. We have to go. We have to go. A lot of people are bleeding downstairs. A lot of people are hurt’.”
“There was no hesitation from there. I grabbed my bag and I started running as well,” said Mutombo.
Mutombo was hoarse as he described being ushered through the terminal to the airport tarmac, recalling fellow travellers paralyzed by shock as they struggled to come to terms with the horror of the blast.
“I just feel bad for the family of the loved ones that lost their lives. They couldn’t run, they couldn’t move,” Mutombo said.
“It was very crazy. I feel very bad. A mom trying to push her two kids. You have everybody running. It was very sad,” added Mutombo, who retired in 2009 after 18 years in the NBA.