Page 130 - 6th std Eng SL text 2019-20

Neerja Bhanot joined Pan Am Airlines in 1986. She was
the senior flight purser on the ill-fated Pan Am Flight 73. This
flight was hijacked by four heavily armed terrorists after it

landed in Karachi at 5 a.m. from Mumbai. PA 73 was enroute
to Frankfurt and onward to New York City. Neerja alerted the
cockpit crew about the hijack. As the plane was on the tarmac,

the three-member cockpit crew of pilot, co-pilot and the flight
engineer were able to flee from the aircraft. Neerja, being the
most senior cabin crew member on board, took charge.

purser : an officer on a plane who takes care of passengers

en route : on the way
cockpit : a compartment for the pilot
crew : all the people working on a plane
tarmac : a runway

flee : run away
take charge : assume control

back : support

The hijackers immediately shot dead a passenger who
identified himself to the terrorists as an American. The
terrorists wanted to identify the Americans. So they instructed
Neerja to collect the passports of all the passengers. Neerja,

and the other attendants under her charge, hid the passports
of the 40 Americans on board.
After seventeen hours, the hijackers opened fire and set off
explosives. Neerja opened the emergency door and helped a

number of passengers to escape. She did not herself escape.
She died while shielding three children from a hail of bullets.
Neerja was recognised internationally as “the heroine of the
hijack”. She is the youngest recipient of the Ashoka Chakra,
India's highest civilian award for bravery.

118