A Pan Am 73 Survivor Describes The Last Few Hours Of Neerja Bhanot's Fight With The Hijackers!

All thanks to the cast and crew of the film Neerja that the world now knows the story of a braveheart who sacrificed her life only to save the life of passengers. Everyone is talking about Neerja's courage and bravery and why not? The story should have been told years ago!

There was no mention of Neerja Bhanot's sacrifice in textbooks or history books. Now the world knows Neerja Bhanot's story, all thanks to Sonam Kapoor's realistic and apt portrayal of Neerja.

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Apart from the film, here's what a PAN AM survivor revealed about those last few unfateful hours where Neerja was single-handedly tackling the crisis situation.

Dr Kishore Murthy, a survivor from the ill-fated flight recalled Neerja's last few minutes of the battle and here's what all he revealed.

¡°I was on my way to the US to attend an international conference. We were to take a Pan Am Mumbai-Frankfurt-New York flight. It came as a surprise to us at Bombay airport when we were told the flight would first land at the Karachi International Airport and then proceed to Frankfurt. Prior to our departure, we had heard that all airports in Pakistan and India were on high alert as the Americans had bombed (Libyan ruler Colonel Muammar) Gaddafi¡¯s palace (in retaliation for the Libyan involvement in the bombing of a Pan Am flight, which crashed at Lockerbie, Soctland). When we landed in Karachi, the aircraft was hijacked by Libyan terrorists but Neerja, who was well trained in anti-hijack measures, alerted the pilots and they escaped through the cockpit window.

There were approximately 400 passengers in the plane at the time and Neerja was communicating between the hijackers and the passengers and keeping everyone calm.

25-30 passengers were killed and a large number were injured. The terrorists began screaming in Arabic. They made 300 passengers move to the front of the economy cabin. Four terrorists took position in four corners of the cabin and started shooting and throwing grenades. One person opened the door that led to the wing of the plane. I remember Neerja screaming to that passenger that he should use another escape route where there was an emergency chute. But he jumped from the wing to the ground and was, as a result, paralysed. It was very sad.

But that wasn¡¯t the end. They were probably angry with Neerja because of the way she was thinking on her feet, marshaling the limited resources available to her and saving so many passengers. I was in the sixth row of the economy class and vividly remember how they shot her at point blank range in front of me. I was shocked to see her dying. One cannot express those feelings in words. Whenever I think of that moment, I wonder: Is this humanity? What has a 23-year-old done to deserve this? She was only trying to help people.

You know, Neerja was the first person who could have run away. She was trained and she knew what was happening.

She was at the entrance of the aircraft when the terrorists boarded. She could have escaped like the pilots did, but she didn¡¯t do it. That shows her guts and her inner strength. She was truly a great leader.

This memory is so vivid that, even now, after 30 odd years I can¡¯t forget her lovely face. She was an angel. If at all there is a God, for me it is her. We talk of God but no one has seen Him. Like me, there are 300 odd passengers who survived because of her.

I feel this film on Neerja should have been made a long ago. This is the bravery we should be talking about.A young lady commanding a plane, negotiating with terrorists, keeping the passengers calm and maintaining her cool is the kind of bravery you rarely see in life.

We came to know the terrorists were caught at Karachi airport and jailed in Pakistan for many years. After they escaped, they were caught by American forces in Bangkok and are still in jail. Neerja saved Indian and American lives that unfortunate day.

I request the people of India to watch this film"