Monday, August 4, 2008

Search: in Airport alone -- family forgets four-year-old at Israel airport

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.

"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.

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.

"It is usual that travellers in a rush forget their luggage but not a child. This never happens," a police official said.

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.

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.

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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