HighLights
  1. Captain Smit Machchhar saved 174 lives on a flydubai flight.
  2. Israeli PM Netanyahu praised him as a "true hero."
  3. Nanny Sandra Samuel's 26/11 Mumbai attack bravery.

flydubai Flight Scare: Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar has been receiving applause from across the world for thwarting a 9/11-like plane crash on Wednesday, saving 174 people, mostly Israeli. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him a "true hero". Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump also praised his courage.

"My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery. Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker, preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster," Netanyahu said in an X post.

ALSO READ: 'Calm Person With Great Composure': How Smit Machchhar's Friend And Neighbours Describe Flydubai Flight Hero

This was not the first incident when an Indian became a hero in Israel. 18 years ago, an Indian emerged as a saviour for an Israeli child amid hostility. Machchhar's heroic act reminds us of nanny Sandra Samuel, who also displayed unparalleled valour to save the life of an Israeli kid during a terror attack.

What Happened 18 Years Ago

When Pakistani terrorists carried out the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg was living with his parents at the city's Nariman House, also known as Chabad House. The boy was rescued in a daring move by his nanny, Samuels, who was hiding in a room downstairs when the terror strike unfolded. Six Jews, including Moshe's parents Rabbi Gabriel and Rivka Holtzberg, were killed in Chabad House, India Today reported. Pictures of Samuels holding the little boy close to her chest after escaping from the place drew global attention.

ALSO READ: Flydubai Flight Scare: A Look At 7 Mid-Air Incidents When Cockpit Turned Critical

On November 26, 2008, 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists reached Mumbai via sea. They unleashed lethal attacks at several places, including Nariman House, leaving 166 killed and more than 300 injured. Terrorists stormed into Chabad House, a Jewish outreach center in Colaba, run by Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka. They killed six people at Chabad House.

When the Jewish centre was under attack, Samuel did not lose hope and went to Moshe, the son of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and Rivka Holtzberg, after hearing his cry. Samuel and another employee, Qazi Zakir Hussain, went upstairs. There, they found Moshe crying near his parents' dead bodies. Seeing horrific scene, she picked up the child and ran out of the building amid gunfiring.

PM Modi Met Moshe

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Moshe during his historic visit to Israel in July 2017. PM Modi in presence of his Israeli counterpart Netanyahu hugged the kid at an event in Jerusalem.

(With agenies inputs)

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