More often than not, we look back at the religious practices of old and even the ones still carried out today with anything from a raised eyebrow to a nauseating sense of moral disgust. It’s been fairly well-documented in scientific literature that humans act out in violence as a last resort, trying to stake their claims to social status or simply trying to survive.

Religion usurps this aspect of human existence, blending status and survival and giving it away to proposed supernatural forces which people have sought to please to receive blessings and good fortune since time immemorial. Here are 10 civilizations which engaged in one of the weirdest religious practices of all, the sacrifice of children.

10 Babylon

Finding itself dead center in the birthplace of civilization, Babylon was a megalithic settlement and one of the most powerful forces of the ancient world. They sacrificed human beings to their chief deity, Marduk, as well as others like Anu, a deity of the city Uruk, during the later years of the Babylonian Empire. Annual fire festivals were held where they would sacrifice children to Anu.

It’s safe to say that human sacrifice was a staple during the entire existence of Babylon, with the first mention of the city’s existence in the 23rd century BC. It remained a powerful city and empire at times until it was taken by Alexander the Great in 331 BC. After that, it could never quite recover its former glory.^[1]

9 Aztec

The Aztecs are probably the society best known for engaging in human sacrifice for religious reasons. In October 2017, archaeologists unearthed a rare find, a cylindrical pit specifically dug and lined with volcanic rocks centuries ago for a sacrifice to the gods of the Aztecs.

Tenochtitlan was an ancient Aztec city which now lies in the heart of Mexico City. The find came at the foot of Templo Mayor, an Aztec temple in Tenochtitlan. It is believed that this child, known as Offering 176, was sacrificed sometime in the 1400s.

This was a time of Aztec expansion when many children were sacrificed to their gods. Most likely, Offering 176 was killed to appease Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec war god, and bring favor to those living in the city.^[2]

8 Canaan

Canaan is the all-encompassing term for the land which was in modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel. The Holy Bible is replete with references to an ancient Canaanite god named Molech (aka Moloch) to whom human sacrifices were both the norm and seemingly plentiful.

Molech was even referred to as the “god of child sacrifice” by some. This deity was thought to be very well pleased with offerings that burned living people, notably children, in a fire.

In The Holy Bible, the Book of Leviticus even forbids this practice. Leviticus 18:21 says, “Neither shall you give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.”^[3]

7 Israelites

Before the decree in Leviticus, the Israelites often practiced human sacrifice, which included children, sometimes even to the foreign god Baal. We find further scriptures, such as those in Kings, which claim that the Israelites worshiped false gods and engaged in the ritual killing of human children.^[4]

The Bible describes the children of ancient Israel as being used much like animals for burned offerings, sometimes to even appease the Judeo-Christian god Jehovah. Some scholars have vehemently denied these allegations, though the descriptions are right there in the works surviving from ancient times.

However, it should be noted that human sacrifices were largely taboo and violated religious law in the majority of the Judeo-Christian religions.

6 Olmec

The Olmec civilization was one of the oldest large settlements in prehistoric Mesoamerica. Their culture and sphere of influence spanned much of southern North America, including the area which encompasses the modern-day countries of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.

The evidence is fairly damning for the Olmec people. They are believed to be the first known Mesoamerican culture to practice human sacrifice. They’re significantly older than other cultures from the early Americas.^[5]

Around 300 BC, the Olmec people mysteriously vanished. The humid rain forest ate away the bones of the people who’d previously lived there. All we have left are the relics of their former culture.

Yet we do have evidence of child sacrifice in ancient Mesoamerica. Thousands upon thousands of bones have been recovered from various sites, including Midnight Terror Cave in Belize and the sacred shrine of El Manati. This culture sacrificed thousands of children to their gods. The bones of these children—along with those of many women—have been left behind for us to find.

5 Maya

The Mayan civilization came about some 1,500 years after the Olmec and carried on the practices of human sacrifice to their gods as well. Archaeologists digging in the Guatemalan city of Ceibal, which reaches way back to the times of the Mayan culture, have discovered something truly bizarre—obsidian stones buried at the places of their child sacrifices to their gods.

Obsidian is a type of dark natural glass, usually jet-black in color, which is formed when lava cools rapidly. The Maya believed that obsidian was a divine stone.

The Maya would sacrifice small children to the gods, whom they believed were empowered by the blood of children. Then the Maya buried these youngsters face-to-face in a grave, often with obsidian.^[6]

4 Toltec

What other cultures did on a small scale, the Toltec civilization did on a massive scale. Many civilizations inhabited the southern part of North America over time, and the Toltec came right before the reign of the Aztecs in modern-day Mexico. They dominated the area from the 10th–12th centuries AD, and the sacrifice of live children was apparently a staple of their culture like the others before them.

Near Tula, Mexico, a mass grave was uncovered during construction which contained the remains of at least 24 children. All the evidence was there of a mass killing and child sacrifice to the gods.

The bodies are believed to have been killed and buried sometime between AD 950 and AD 1150.^[7] Compared to our significantly less violent world of today, this was definitely an unusual culture and perhaps gives us a glimpse into the world of the past and the human race’s savage tendencies.

3 Inca

The Incas stand apart from most of the rest of the Mesoamerican cultures in the world of human sacrifice in that they seemingly only sacrificed children and never adults. This practice was still going on by the time that European settlers arrived.

The strongest, healthiest children were chosen intentionally as they were thought to better please the gods. It was an honor in Incan civilization to be chosen as a sacrifice or to be a member of that person’s family.

Although their population was smaller than other Mesoamerican cultures, the Inca Empire was widespread, spanning at least 4,000 kilometers (2,500 mi) at its largest. Child sacrifice quite obviously permeated the Mesoamerican world of prehistory. For better or worse, the European colonists tried very hard to stop these practices upon their arrival, though such rituals often continued in secret.^[8]

2 Teotihuacan

Many Mesoamerican cultures built megalithic structures on which they would perform their macabre human sacrifices. The Pyramid of the Moon was one such structure in Teotihuacan, Mexico, where the Mesoamerican civilizations who lived there long ago would tear the hearts out of children and sacrifice them to the gods.

The pyramid structure is approximately 2,000 years old, and the site contains the remains of many children who’d been sacrificed by this ancient culture. Strangely, the people who lived in Teotihuacan left zero clues as to what their culture might be about—no hieroglyphs or writing.

As was common with early Mesoamerican cultures, the Teotihuacanos just seemingly disappeared and we can’t quite figure out why. Centuries later, the Aztecs referred to Teotihuacan as “the City of the Gods.” The Teotihuacanos had left their structures completely intact for others to find later.^[9]

1 Celts

When the Roman Empire expanded, it stopped human sacrifice, a practice largely taboo in Greco-Roman culture with few exceptions. Most Roman writings show that they felt morally superior by not engaging in human sacrifice. One group that the Romans called the Gauls, otherwise known to us as the Celts, ritually killed children in much of ancient Europe.

The Celts were a brutal but loose-knit band of tribes who would occasionally join forces to fight off the invading Romans. In warfare, the Celts would behead their enemies and embalm the severed heads as trophies to take with them. Of course, this also scared off would-be enemies as an act of psychological warfare.

So it should come as no surprise that such a hard-core ethnic group would occasionally practice child sacrifice to appease their gods. Roman authors galore, including Julius Caesar, document the practice and their abhorrence of it at great length.

Recent excavations of Celtic sites have turned up mummies of sacrificed children as well as structures for human-made “fountains of blood” where the drinking of blood and cannibalism would take place.^[10] The Celts were a terrifyingly violent culture, and these practices show just how brutal humankind can be if left to their own devices and cultures.

As the saying goes, “Adversity does not build character, it reveals it.” This is never truer than when disaster strikes. In times of great misfortune and even catastrophe, there are often only a few people who have the strength and courage to go above and beyond to help others survive.

Many tragedies have led to stories of great self-sacrifice as people have shown immense bravery to save the lives of others. To ensure that their heroism is never forgotten, here are the stories of 10 people who sacrificed their own lives to save others.

10 Frank Foley

Frank Foley wouldn’t be most people’s idea of a typical British spy or hero. After all, he was reportedly small and a little potbellied. He also wore round glasses, so he appeared almost the opposite of James Bond. Yet, according to Sir Alex Younger, the current head of MI6, Foley was “a consummately effective intelligence officer.”

After Kristallnacht and before the outbreak of World War II, he went undercover as a passport control officer for the British embassy in Berlin. As he was fully aware of the poor treatment the Jews received from the Nazis, Foley decided to take action by forging passports and altering visas to help Jewish people escape Hitler’s rule.^[1]

Although he lacked diplomatic immunity, Foley even entered various Nazi concentration camps to issue travel documents and visas. Due to his heroic actions, he is believed to have rescued more than 10,000 men, women, and children in Nazi Germany.

9 Titanic Engineers

Unfortunately, many movies based on the sinking of the RMS Titanic have failed to depict the sacrifice of the liner’s 35 engineering staff members who lost their lives during the maritime disaster. As none of the engineering crew survived the sinking on April 15, 1912, there was sadly no firsthand account of the men’s actions at the official inquiry.^[2]

However, there is no doubt that every engineer remained aboard to maintain the RMS Titanic’s electrical power during the sinking. By keeping the liner’s lights on, they helped to reduce panic among passengers while enabling the wireless officers to send distress signals to nearby ships.

8 The Chernobyl Three

On April 26, 1986, one of four nuclear reactors at the Chernobyl nuclear power station exploded, which led to 400 times more radiation than the Hiroshima atomic bomb in 1945. However, the damage from the disaster would have been considerably worse if not for the heroism of three brave volunteers.

A few days after the disaster, scientists discovered that the molten nuclear material produced would melt through the concrete reactor flooring. Consequently, it would seep into the pools of water below. This would cause a radiation-contaminated steam explosion that would destroy the nuclear plant as well as the additional three reactors. It would cause irreparable damage to the world.

To prevent the nuclear fallout, the 20 million liters (5 mil gal) of water needed to be drained, which required the correct valves to be manually turned down. Senior engineer Valeri Bespalov, mechanical engineer Alexei Ananenko, and shift supervisor Boris Baranov volunteered to undertake the mission that many deemed to be suicide, although it would improve the fate of millions of people.

As some of the water was drained prior to their mission, the three men entered in wet suits with radioactive water reaching their knees and successfully shut down the valves. Thankfully, the three men survived the mission. Two of them are still alive to this day and continue to work in the nuclear industry. Unfortunately, Boris Baranov passed away of a heart attack in 2005.^[3]

7 Benjamin Clark

Benjamin Keefe Clark didn’t serve as a police officer or firefighter on September 11, 2001. He was working as a chef, prepping meals for those at the Fiduciary Trust Company on the 96th floor offices in the South Tower. When the plane hit the building, he didn’t try to escape the disaster himself. Instead, he took the steps to guide others to safety.^[4]

Reportedly, the former Marine ensured that everyone in his department as well as in all the 96th floor offices evacuated the building immediately. Following the tragic event, a Fiduciary official credited Benjamin with saving hundreds of lives. For example, once they reached the 78th floor, he reportedly assisted a woman in a wheelchair. Despite his undeniable heroism, he didn’t survive the tragic event.

6 John Robert Fox

World War II was undoubtedly filled with many brave soldiers who put their lives on the line to save their comrades. While we might sadly never hear of their acts of bravery, we do know the story of Lieutenant John Robert Fox. The 29-year-old GI served in Sommocolonia, a mountain village in Italy which was subject to brutal fighting between US and German forces.

On Christmas Day, the US forces had gained control of the picturesque town, with members of Fox’s unit kindly handing out cheese and chocolates to villagers. The next day, the German counterattack began in the early hours of the morning, as expected. As Fox was an artillery spotter, his role required him to radio coordinates to inform the units where to deliver their payloads.

As the Germans’ attack was severe, the US unit was forced to retreat. Hiding in his lookout position on the second floor of a house, he used the radio to contact his unit to request that artillery fire be directed at the village. This would provide the troops with enough time to retreat.

When the artillery officer stated, “Fox, that will be on you,” he reportedly replied, “Fire it. There’s more of them than there are us.” This sacrifice provided necessary cover for the retreating soldiers, which allowed the US unit to regroup and reclaim Sommocolonia a few days later.^[5]

5 Jack Phillips

Jack Phillips, a 25-year-old senior wireless operator, also proved to be one of the many heroes during the sinking of the RMS Titanic. On the evening of April 14, 1912, Phillips was working through a backlog of personal messages from the passengers and crew. However, he and Harold Bride, a junior wireless officer, did pass on several messages about iceberg warnings to Captain Edward Smith.

As the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg at 11:40 PM, Phillips continued to work in the wireless room. When Bride came to take over from Phillips, Captain Smith entered and ordered Phillips to send out a distress signal, calling for assistance from nearby ships and providing the liner’s estimated position.

Both wireless officers worked tirelessly until 2:00 AM sending distress signals. Then Captain Smith informed them that they had done their duty and ordered them to abandon ship. While Bride took the opportunity to throw flotation devices into the water to help others, Phillips remained at his post in the wireless room sending distress signals until the final minute of the liner’s sinking.

Although Phillips managed to climb onto the upturned Lifeboat B, he sadly passed away and slipped into the water. Thankfully, Harold Bride survived the event. He died in 1956.^[6]

4 Maximilian Kolbe

Many stories have emerged of truly brave individuals who selflessly risked their lives to save others during the Holocaust. One story that is impossible to forget is that of Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish priest who was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in 1941.

The Nazis slowly starved prisoners at the death camp as they each received small rations that couldn’t sustain a child. Every prisoner received a cup of imitation coffee each morning and weak soup and half a loaf of bread following work. With everyone struggling to secure a place to receive their ration of food, Father Maximilian Kolbe would stand aside to allow others to eat, which meant there was often limited food left for him.

There was also a rule in Auschwitz that 10 men would be killed if one attempted to escape from the concentration camp. A man from Kolbe’s bunker escaped in July 1941, so 10 men were selected to be starved to death.

As Franciszek Gajowniczek, one of the chosen prisoners, cried in anguish, Kolbe stepped forward to the commandant and said, “I am a Catholic priest. Let me take his place. I am old. He has a wife and children.” The commandant accepted his request, and the priest took Gajowniczek’s place.

After two weeks of hunger and thirst, Kolbe was the only person in the group who was fully conscious. He raised his left arm to Bock, an executioner, who injected the priest with a fatal dose of carbolic acid on August 14, 1941.^[7]

3 Godwin Ajala

When Nigerian-born Godwin Ajala first arrived in the United States, he was forced to endure various poorly paid jobs until he secured a permanent position as an access control officer at the World Trade Center. His role required him to walk various floors and ride the elevators at the two towers to secure the building and provide assistance for small emergencies.

When he wasn’t working at the towers, he was preparing to take the New York State bar exam.

When the planes hit the World Trade Center, 33-year-old Ajala selflessly helped thousands of people to evacuate the towers. He reportedly held the door open for people as they fled the building, and he guided others out of the towers to safety. Sadly, he later succumbed to exhaustion and fell into a coma, passing away the following Sunday.^[8]

2 The Village Of Eyam

Although many stories have emerged of individuals sacrificing their lives for others, there are very few in the history books about whole villages selflessly risking their own lives. Yet this is exactly what happened when the village of Eyam in Derbyshire, England, was subjected to the bubonic plague. The disease was carried into the village on a bale of damp cloth. It carried fleas from London, which was struggling with the Black Death.

Forty-two villagers passed away from the pestilence, which made its way across the small community between September and December 1665. Unsurprisingly, many people wanted to flee the village by spring 1666.

However, to prevent the Black Death from traveling to nearby towns, such as Bakewell and Sheffield, William Mompesson, the new rector, attempted to convince the locals to remain in the village to quarantine the plague. The villagers agreed to his request and remained in Eyam.

In little more than a year, 260 people passed away from the plague to ensure that their neighbors didn’t suffer the same fate.^[9]

1 Rick Rescorla

Rick Rescorla, a former British military officer, served as head of security for Morgan Stanley in the World Trade Center’s South Tower. The 1993 terrorist attack on the complex left a big impression on Rescorla, who had already highlighted the security weaknesses prior to the 1993 bombing.

Confident that the World Trade Center would experience something similar in the future, Rescorla regularly made employees at the bank embark on escape drills, which saved their lives during the September 11, 2001, attacks.

On 9/11, Rescorla also led people down the stairs to safety while singing Cornish songs to boost morale. What’s more, he reportedly returned to the 10th floor of the South Tower to help others evacuate the building. Although Rescorla was one of more than 2,600 people who sadly died when the towers collapsed, his heroic actions are believed to have saved the lives of more than 2,500 employees.^[10]

Human beings are designed to be empathetic; they love each other to death, for some, almost literally. However, how much do you love and care for those around you? Are you willing to die for them? For most people, if anyone needs saving, they would find ways to do it without necessarily involving death. The crazy part is that some humans are selfless enough to use their final acts to save others. Don’t believe me? Here are ten times people sacrificed themselves to save others.

10 Sergeant Travis Atkins

The date is the first of June 2007, and the location is war-torn Iraq. The early morning of this fateful day saw Sergeant Travis Atkins call his family, saying he was about to take his men out on a mission. He also notified his mother that he had sent something in the mail for her. What Sergeant Atkins and his family did not know is that they were communicating for the last time. Several hours later, some soldiers came home to inform the Sergeant’s mother that her son had passed away.

While on the mission, Sergeant Atkins and his team set out to frisk two men suspected of setting up roadside bombs. To Sergeant Atkins’s surprise, one of the men had pulled the pin on a grenade to detonate a suicide vest. He bear-hugged the man, lifted him, and slammed him down. As the other officers recount, Sergeant Atkins shielded them from the blast while sacrificing his own life.

When the Sergeant’s parents opened the mail from Sergeant Atkins, they found a letter thanking them for everything they had done for him. Some would say that Sergeant Atkins had foreseen his death. Others would say that everybody sends a simple, ordinary Mother’s Day message. Either way, Sergeant Atkins was a brave, selfless soldier who sacrificed everything for the team. His family was presented with a medal of honor from former President Donald Trump, celebrating Sergeant Atkins’s actions.

9 Casey Jones

If you love ancient history, this is for you! The year 1900 marked the end of a great American locomotive engineer and a true hero. Jones died with one hand on the train’s whistle and the other on its brake. While on a train to Mississippi, he noticed another freight train was on the same track. Jones quickly ordered his partner to leap out of the train to safety as he struggled to bring the train to a halt.

After a lot of effort, Jones managed to slow the train down to the point that everybody in the train survived but him at the time of impact. This was seen as a remarkable effort, and he remains in the history books. Interestingly, Jones wasn’t supposed to be on this train. After driving the train from Canton, Mississippi, another engineer was supposed to take over from Memphis. Unfortunately, the engineer was sick, so Jones had to fill in.

8 Aitzaz Hassan

Fiftenn-year-old Aitzaz Hassan was on his way to school one morning with his friends when they noticed a man wearing a suicide vest. Even though the bomber was dressed in an attire similar to their school uniform, they could tell that he wasn’t a student. When the man approached them asking for directions, Hassan could tell that something was off. Upon realizing that his cover was almost blown, the bomber started to walk hurriedly toward the school gate, but Hassan took it upon himself to ensure he didn’t.

Hassan started pelting stones at the bomber in a bid to stop him. Hassan tackled the bomber as they approached the gate, prompting him to detonate the bomb. With students gathered inside the school for their morning assembly, Hassan sacrificed himself so his schoolmates could live.

7 Lieutenant John Robert Fox

We have all heard of the phrase “shoot yourself in the foot,” and we can all agree we cannot fathom the idea. Now, imagine calling on someone to bomb your location with a missile! Impossible, right? Not for one John Robert Fox, though. The American soldier dared to call on a missile to his location to stop an advancing enemy attack.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in May 1915, John Robert Fox was a young, diligent, and intelligent man ready to conquer the world. When he joined the military at the age of 26, he had his whole career ahead of him. After graduating with the rank of Second Lieutenant, war broke out, and he was commissioned to join the 92nd Infantry Division.

In 1944, Fox found himself in a war against the Nazis in Italy. He was tasked with staying behind in a tiny village of Sommocolonia, Tuscany, to watch over the enemies as his team retreated. Watching from the second floor of the building, he could see the Nazis approaching. Fox used his radio to contact his colleagues, asking them to aim their missiles in his direction. When enough soldiers had moved closer to his location, Fox asked his colleagues to aim and fire the missiles. When asked if he was sure, Fox simply replied, “Fire it,” the missile was fired, killing him on the spot, along with hundreds of other Nazi soldiers.

Through this selfless act, the American soldiers could retreat successfully and eventually took charge of the town from the German soldiers. Fox’s story stood out when countless soldiers fought for their lives and country. He was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for his sacrifices.

6 Kiera Larsen

When American singer Bruno Mars belted out, “I’ll jump in front of the train for ya,” people thought he was just lyrical and a poet. After all, that is what musicians do. Kiera Larsen probably didn’t know about Bruno Mars’s song, but she was more than willing to jump in front of a moving car to save two toddlers.

“10-year-old girl sacrifices life to save others” is the headline that residents of Lakeside, California, woke up to one morning. Larsen was playing outside their house when she noticed that a car parked not far away was moving at about 10 miles per hour but increasing its speed.

Noticing that the vehicle was headed toward two other children playing in a nearby yard, she rushed and shoved them away from its path. Unfortunately, Larsen did not have time to rescue herself, and she was crushed by the car. Most adults would think twice in such a situation, but it was a no-brainer for Larsen. She is an undoubted heroine.

5 Muelmar Magallanes

In 2009, the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Ketsana, which killed more than 700 people and caused losses worth more than $1 billion. Among the people that died is Muelmar Magallanes, but he was special. Usually, a typhoon starts with heavy rains and overflowing banks. When Magallanes noticed this, he started evacuating his family using a rope tied to his waist. He pulled them from the flooded streets and led them to higher and safer ground.

After evacuating his family, Magallanes noticed his neighbors needed help too. After ferrying over 30 people to safety, Magallanes’s last act of kindness saw him rescue a woman and her six-month-old baby. After towing them to safety, he was so exhausted that he “let go” and drifted away to his death. If this were a movie, you would rage in anger, shouting how the hero deserved a “happy ending.” Unfortunately, life doesn’t have any special effects; it is cruel.

4 Scott Beigel

Scott Beigel, a geography teacher and cross-country coach, died while saving his students from a shooter. According to an interview conducted by ABC, student Kelsey Friend narrated how Beigel unlocked a door and ushered the students in but didn’t make it himself.

Kelsey explained that Beigel insisted on the students getting in first rather than going first. As the last student entered the room, Beigel was shot dead. With the students in the room panicking, the gunman walked away, probably thinking that the teacher was alone. Kelsey and the other students are forever indebted to this selfless act by their teacher. Talk about leading by example!

3 Rebecca Townsend

Most 15-year-old girls have dreams of what they want to achieve in life, but most are usually just fantasies. However, Rebecca Townsend was not an ordinary teenager. She knew exactly what she wanted to accomplish in life before dying, which she did. Before her death, Townsend lived in Danbury, Connecticut, where she was born.

Apart from being an amazing actor, the teenager was also academically gifted and set to go to college. Interestingly, Townsend had written a note describing all she wanted to achieve. At the time of her death, she had already achieved two. When Townsend pushed her friend out of the path of an oncoming car before being hit, she completed the third item on her bucket list with that heroic act, even though it left her dead. Even though many were hurt, those who knew Townsend were not surprised by her selfless act; they knew her for that.

2 Tyler Doohan

One morning, an eight-year-old Tyler Doohan woke up to find the trailer he was in was on fire. Instinctively, the first thing to do, especially for a child, is to rush out yelling. For one, Doohan, the story was different; he started running toward the fire, waking up everyone who was asleep.

Doohan managed to wake up six people, including two younger children. However, when he went in to rescue his grandfather, he succumbed to the raging fire. It is said he died trying to lift his grandpa. Were it not for Doohan’s bravery, the number of casualties would have been higher.

1Neerja Bhanot

In 1986, New York-bound Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked by terrorists. During a stopover in Karachi, a group of uniformed airport security forces approached the plane, claiming that there were terrorists on board who had masqueraded as passengers, forcing the aircraft to a halt. With the terrorists’ plan A now quashed, they resorted to killing everyone they identified. They ordered the flight attendants to collect everyone’s passports for identification.

Because the flight attendants hid passports belonging to American citizens, there was a 17-hour standoff. Some passengers started leaving through the exit doors, so the terrorists decided to kill everyone on board. Neerja Bhanot played a massive role in these evacuations, but unfortunately, she died. Bhanot saved many lives because of her selfless deeds, and for that, she is still celebrated today. Bhanot was awarded the Ashok Chakra, the highest award for bravery in the face of an enemy—she was the first woman to do so.