Indian nanny hailed for heroic act during Mumbai seige

Sandra Samuel, the Indian nanny who rescued Jewish toddler Moshe Hotzberg when terrorists attacked their Nariman House, Mumbai, has been hailed in Israel for her selfless, brave and heroic act.

The Good Samaritan was lauded a hero by the Chabad movement and Moshe's family for saving the child. This could bestow Samuel with the "Righteous Gentile" award that could facilitate her stay in Israel.

The special honour is usually reserved for those who risked their lives to save Jews from the Holocaust.

On November 26, as terrorists stormed the Jewish Center, Samuel locked herself in a room with another staff member.

The following morning, she heard Moshe calling her name and went to look for him even as gunfire continued. She found Moshe covered in blood, crying beside his dead parents, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka.

The Christian told reporters that she grabbed the child and ran outside even as the terrorists were looking for targets in the adjacent room.

Terrorists continued the siege of Nariman House for the next two days, killing several hostages before being gunned down.

"Miraculously, the terrorists who were still on the roof of the Chabad House didn't hear or see her or Moshe. Miraculously, this little orphan survived because of his caretaker who risked everything to save him," hailed an Israeli media.

"She is a light amidst this darkness. Sandra is the proof that when people show their evil, others will show their beauty and greatness."

Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, a Chabad official from New York said, "Moshe, you have no living mother and father. ... Today you become the child of all Israel."

Those at the Chabad House were among 179 people killed last week when gunmen targeted several sites across Mumbai, including two luxury hotels, a train station and a hospital.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived India hoping to ease tensions between India and Pakistan. Its top defense official has also been dispatched to assist India in cracking the terror groups.