Royal praise for man who foiled plane bomb

Queen Beatrix has expressed her appreciation for Jasper Schuringa, the Dutch film producer who helped overpower the man who tried to blow up a plane bound for Detroit on December 25, Nos tv reports on Wednesday.


It is not clear how the queen communicated her feelings to Schuringa, Nos said. Deputy prime minister Wouter Bos phoned the 32-year-old to express his good wishes on Saturday, Nos said.
According to the Telegraaf, the Dutch arm of the Carnegie Hero Fund has also called for him to be given a formal recognition for bravery.
Hiding
The Parool reports that Schuringa has had enough of all the media attention for his action and has gone into hiding in the US. According to friend Chris van Amersfoort, Schuringa was staying with a friend in Miami but became so fed up of having reporters camped on the doorstep that he has moved to a secret address.
Schuringa was on his way to visit his sister in Costa Rica when he was heralded as the hero of the flight. He climbed over seats when he saw a man apparently on fire and ‘dived’ onto him holding him in a head lock until help arrived.
Another friend, Lydia Faber, told the paper it is exactly like Schuringa to get involved. ‘He is impulsive. He would not let this happen,’ she said.
Van Amersfoort said Schuringa was astonished by the slow reactions of other passengers when they realised something was wrong. ‘He does not think of himself as a hero,’ Van Amersfoort said. ‘He said he just did what he had to do.’

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