Brussels attack: False hopes raised by US State Department officials over missing New York couple

The family of an American husband and wife who were caught up in the Brussels attacks were wrongly informed that the couple had been found. The couple are Justin and Stephanie Shults, originally from Tennessee and Kentucky respectively. They had dropped off Stephanie's mother, Carolyn Moore, at the Brussels airport moments before the two explosions which killed 14 people in the check-in area.

NBC News reports that they were waving goodbye to Moore, who was walking towards the check-in when the bombs exploded. Moore survived without serious injury, but family members still do not know if the couple had left the building before the explosions occurred. On 23 March, Mr Shults's brother Levi Sutton made a post on Twitter to say the couple had been found: "State department just told my mom justin&steph were found. We do not know the severity of their injuries or what hospital they're at."

Unfortunately that information proved to be false. Sutton's mother was telephoned by a Belgian social worker who told him that the couple remained missing. Sutton later tweeted: "I shouldn't be sending this tweet. I am disgusted that the information given to us wasn't 100% correct." He went on to say: "This is exactly what we were trying to avoid and now I've told friends and family members things that weren't true. Obviously we just want Justin and Stephanie to come home. I apologise for the misinformation that was given to my family." Mr Shults, 30, and Mrs Shults, 29, were both working as accountants in Brussels.

Meanwhile US citizens Sascha and Alexander Pinczowksi, who were about to return to New York, have been confirmed as among the dead. US officials say that a small number of other US citizens remain unaccounted for. A US State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, said approximately a dozen US citizens were believed to have been injured in the attacks.

They include three Mormon missionaries, plus a US government employee and four of his family members. One of the Mormon casualties is Mason Wells, 19, who also survived the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, according to his family. The other two Mormons, Richard Norby, 66, and Joseph Empey, 20, have severe injuries.