(From top left): Nupoor, Sunshine, Sherene, Dilip. The Pan Am Flight 73 on its way from Mumbai to New York via Karachi and Frankfurt was hijacked on September 5, 1986. According to her father, she found herself starved off finance and food, losing 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of weight in that period. Neerja Bhanot was the only crew member to be awarded posthumous bravery awards by India and Pakistan, The Pakistani authorities released the leader of the hijackers, Zaid Hassan Abd Latif Safarini, in September 2001, but he was quickly recaptured by the US, Safarini is 12 years into his 160-year sentence in a US prison. It was September 5, 1986. Someone who could have easily escaped the plane hijacked by the terrorists, but she chose to stay put and help the passengers in the flight. Image via, Wadoud Muhammad Hafiz al-Turki (Hafiz) in 2000 (Left) andhis age-processed image in 2018 (Right). "Many have criticised the pilots for leaving the rest of the crew behind, but I was relieved when I saw the pilots were gone, as we were all safer on the ground than we would be in the air. A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories - in under 5 minutes, 2022 NextShark, Inc. All rights reserved.Terms & Conditions, Neerja Bhanot, who was killed at 22, posthumously became the youngest recipient of the, , Indias highest peacetime military decoration for, In March 1985, Bhanot, 21, wed a businessman in an ad-based arranged marriage that turned out to be the worst two months of her life to that point. Survivors said Neerja shielded three children with her body as the hijackers opened fire. She gave up her life so that others could live. Neerja was standing right next to the exit. Neerja informed her senior members in the cockpit about the flight being hijacked. Neerja informed her senior members in the cockpit about the flight being hijacked. They asked Neerja for all the passports of the passengers to identify the Americans. Do Read: Educated Homeless Man Finds A Job After Actor Ahsan Khans Video Goes Viral. AUD $7 million has been offered as a reward for providing leads in the case, which is still very much open. By using the power of constructive journalism, we want to change India one story at a time. Interestingly, one of the three children Bhanot had saved, then aged 7, became a captain of a major airline, according to One India. In between. Captain, Co-Pilot, and whole cockpit crew left the aircraft immediately. The braveheart made sure she got all the passengers out of trouble and lost her life just two days before her 23rd birthday. Neerja was 22 years old when she was killed, merely 25 hours before her 23rd birthday. We love you all and can't appreciate you guys enough. Except Neerja, all other flight attendants were tied up with ropes. On September 5, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked on the tarmac of Karachi airport by four armed terrorists . Shortly after, the hijackers turned to their bullets, which caused the most damage. They also want people to know they dearly miss their colleagues Neerja Bhanot and Meherjee Kharas. "I didn't see medical facilities at the airport besides minor first aid The hospital was several kilometres away from the airport," says Dilip. A fifth accomplice, Wadoud Muhammad Hafiz al-Turki (alias Hafiz), was captured a week later. Nupoor and Madhvi slipped off the edge of the wing, fracturing bones as they hit the tarmac around 20 feet (6 metres) below. The leader of the hijacking Zaid Hassan Abd Latif Safarini was sentenced to 160 years in 2004. Since her death, Neerja has been remembered for her bravery and compassion, and in 2016 a biopic of her story called "Neerja" was released. Neerja was one among them. But what Nupoor has written is completely shocking. Recommended Read: This Crazy Fact About 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' Cast Will Leave You Totally Shocked! They occasionally worked the same flight and ran into each other at layovers. Outside on the tarmac, Pan Am's Karachi director Viraf Doroga used a megaphone to begin negotiations with the hijackers. Neerja Bhanot died on the night of Sept. 5, 1986, after terrorists killed her for helping passengers escape Pan Am Flight 73 hijacked at Karachi airport, Pakistan. The bloodbath began when the hijackers tried to cause a massive explosion that would kill everyone on board, including themselves. In the chaos and darkness, at least three doors had been opened, though it is not clear by whom. Justice for Crimes Award, United States Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia. Atul Kasbekar, who has co-produced the film, took to Twitter on Monday to thank Khanjan for sharing his feelings about . Some people, shine even after death. But, she was the captain, who believed that she had to be the last person to quit alive or dead., Recommended Read: This Cafe In Agra That Hires Only Acid Attack Victims Will Reinstate Your Faith In Humanity. She died before the millenial generation was born. The captain, the co-pilot, and the cockpit crew had left the aircraft. Though she was only 22 at the time, Bhanot's quick thinking saved the pilots and hundreds of others from a treacherous 17-hour ordeal that claimed 20 lives including her own. Copyright 2023 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. They pushed her down first, then jumped out themselves. Bhanot opened one of the airplane doors, and even though she could have been the first one to jump out and flee from the aircraft, she did not do so and instead started helping the other passengers escape. A selfless human being and the one with a courageous heart! Special Courage Award, US Government 5. They also shed light on the last few hours of Neerja Bhanot, their colleague who died in the attack and is the subject of the new film. I was seated near the emergency exit. Neerja Tiwari's birthday is on the 1st of January. Bengaluru, Feb 17: Neerja Bhanot was 23-year-old when she bravely fought against terrorists, who had hijacked Pan-Am flight-73 in Karachi on Sept 5, 1986. Upon learning that the pilots had escaped, lead hijacker Zayd Hassan Abd al-Latif Safarini, also known as Mustafa, was forced to negotiate with officials. A selfless human being and the one with a courageous heart! Biopic. There is a square in Mumbais Ghatkopar (East) suburb, which is named after her and is called the Neerja Bhanot Chowk. After giving it a second try, it opened, but at the same time a grenade hit me in the left eye. FBI agent Carl becomes obsessed with tracking down the con man, who . (In group shot - far left): Massey. The hijackers, who were a part of Abu Nidal Organisation, were allegedly backed by Libya. After 48 hours, the Indian Airlines flight took all the Indians back home. Its as simple as that in end. Neerja Bhanot was the senior flight attendant aboard Pam Am Flight 73 when it landed in Karachi, Pakistan, on the morning of September 1986. Sonam Kapoor's Neerja, a biopic on the courageous air hostess who sacrificed her life to save 359 passengers on board the hijacked PanAm flight in 1986, opened to a great first day on Friday,. Mr. Bhanot wrote, citing accounts of eyewitnesses. She was also posthumously awarded India's highest peacetime gallantry the Ashok Chakra Award, and is known internationally as the "heroine of the hijack.". [citation needed]. Around 9:00 p.m., the auxiliary power unit. When the lights did go out, all the flight attendants and passengers were in the middle section of the cabin, several seated on the ground in the aisles and near the doors. Safarini and the rest of the hijackers, identified as Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim (alias Fahad), Muhammad Abdullah Khalil Hussain ar-Rahayyal (alias Khalil) and Muhammad Ahmed Al-Munawar (alias Mansoor) were arrested. The men entered the Boeing 747, firing shots into the air. Recommended Read: The Story Of An Indore Bachelor Who Is The Youngest Indian To Adopt A Special Child Will Leave You Inspired. Neerjas parents started the Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust, using the insurance money and an equal contribution from Pan Am. The Abu Nidal Organisation (ANO), which they were members of, was opposed to US and Israeli policy in the Middle East. Neerja Bhanot - Who Saved 375 Passengers During 1986 Karachi Hijack. Neerjas parents started the Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust, using the insurance money and an equal contribution from Pan Am. February 19, 2016. He was a 7-year-old at that time. She was the senior flight purser on the ill-fated Pan Am Flight 73 flying from Mumbai to USA, which was hijacked by four armed men on September 5, 1986 when it was stopped at Karachi airport in Pakistan. For the 2016 biographical film, see, United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, "Inside a hijack: The unheard stories of the Pan Am 73 crew", "The glamorous lives of '80s air hostesses in India", "It is incredible how blessed this project has been: Atul Kasbekar", "Neerja: A fond tribute to a forgotten hero", "Journalist, former MC member Harish Bhanot passes away", "Body donated to PGI: Ashok Chakra recipient Neerja Bhanot's mother dies at 86", The Story of Neerja Bhanot Indias Flight Attendant CN Traveller, "Neerja Bhanot The Indian Flight Attendant Who Saved 360 Lives", Why Everyone Should Know Hijack Heroine Neerja Bhanots Story, "MY STORY: I Survived the Pan Am Hijack During Which Neerja Bhanot Lost Her Life", "Who is Neerja Bhanot & How Pan Am-73 flight was hijacked in Sept 1986? But why then did they award the Pan Am hero? Mike was made to sit on the floor, and like the other passengers, keep his hands above his head. Neerja Bhanot was a flight attendant who gave her life saving hundreds during a hijacking 33 years ago. The captain, the co-pilot, and the cockpit crew had left the aircraft. Nupoor tried to comfort the passengers around her while her colleague Dilip Bidichandani took round sandwiches and Neerja distributed water. "My first instinct was to open the wing exit and slip out with as many passengers as I could, but I realised that this would leave the rest of the passengers vulnerable," then flight attendant Nupoor Abrol told BBC News. Suddenly, there were screams and three or four shots were fired in the air. They kept on shouting and screaming at us in Arabic and continued firing shots in the air. Rajesh Kumar, whom Safarini had promised to kill if a pilot did not arrive soon. Bhanots legacy remains with her familys establishment of the annual Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust, which reportedly presents an award for a flight crew member who acts beyond the call of duty and another, and the Neerja Bhanot Award, to an Indian woman who bravely faces social injustice and extends help to other women in similar situations. Sunshine remained alert. Sherene, and another colleague Ranee Vaswani, were the last two hostages to leave the plane. And, the second one is awarded to an Indian woman who faced social injustice, but refused to let herself down with it, and instead, helped other women facing similar issues. Fellow attendant Sunshine Vesuwala saw one of the hijackers grab a colleague, Neerja Bhanot, and put a gun to her head. Some people are upset at the way iPhones charge. Hindi. Image via, his age-processed image in 2018 (Right). Meanwhile, inside the plane, 29-year-old American passenger Rajesh Kumar was pulled out of his seat and made to kneel in front of one of the open doors, with a gun to his head. It was just before 06:00 and Pan Am Flight 73, on a stopover in Karachi from Mumbai, was scheduled to continue on to Frankfurt, en route to New York. The flight had just landed in Karachi from Mumbai, and was preparing to take off for the United States, when it was hijacked. Following her ad-based arranged marriage in March 1985, she had gone to the Gulf to join her husband to set up a happy home. Bhanot bounced back from her failed marriage and applied to work as a flight attendant for Pan American Airways (Pan Am) later that year, when the carrier started hiring an all-Indian cabin crew for its Frankfurt to India routes. And, we once again salute this brave soldier who made her nation proud with her selfless act. One is given to a flight crew member from any part of the world, who works beyond the call of duty. Indian Civil Aviation Ministrys Award 6. Though Neerja couldn't make it herself, the flight attendant's bravery saved most of the passengers. Listen to The Quicky to catch up on today's news. [11][12][14], After 17 hours, the hijackers opened fire and set off explosives. After that, I was taken to the terminal by the army and was later shifted to the hospital. Neerja was used as a communicator between terrorist and airlines. The terrorists used Neerja For a more personalised .

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