JERUSALEM (AFP) – A four-year-old girl was left behind at Israel’s Ben Gurion international airport on Sunday as her mother, father and four siblings rushed to catch a flight to Paris, police said.
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“I saw a little girl in tears. She was looking for her parents,” a policewoman told reporters.
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“Luckily she was able to give me her name. I grabbed her and ran to the gates but it was too late,” the plane had just taken off, she said.
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According to police, the girl’s parents only realised she was missing when the pilot of the plane informed them just as the aircraft was taking off.
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“It is usual that travellers in a rush forget their luggage but not a child. This never happens,” a police official said.
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The incident was a stark reminder of the US box office hit “Home Alone” in which a little boy was accidentally left alone as his family rushed to the airport and flew to Paris for a Christmas holiday.
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But unlike the movie, there was a happy ending for the little girl who was able to join her parents. She was flown to Paris on the next flight out accompanied by a flight attendant.
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The forgetful parents will be interrogated by the authorities upon their return home and risk being indicted for negligence, police said.
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