A man saved a hostage woman’s life after he switched places with her and wrestled her captor into submission at Almaty Airport in Kazakhstan.
The incident commenced when a man grabbed a 21-year-old security agent and held her at knifepoint, the U.K.’s Daily Mail reported Friday.
The 67-year-old terrorist had grabbed the woman after being asked to show identification at a security checkpoint.
He was reportedly threatening to detonate a bomb with his cell phone, but it is unclear what he wanted.
Footage from multiple angles showed the dangerous incident unfold.
WARNING: The following video contains images that some may find offensive.
Almaty, Kazakstan.
En knivbeväpnad man tog en kvinnlig anställd som gisslan på Almaty International Airport.
Efter några minuter ingrep en 52-årig man.
Han erbjöd sig frivilligt som gisslan och lyckades sedan snabbt avväpna gärningsmannen genom att ta kniven från honom.… pic.twitter.com/tcWUADZFAw— Existenz.se (@Existenzse) March 7, 2025
The woman can be heard screaming as the man grabbed a handful of her hair, sometimes putting the knife to her face.
That’s when 52-year-old Musa Abdraim stepped in to help.
Abdraim, a father of five, was accompanying his departing relatives when he intervened.
“Suddenly I heard a girl scream and immediately ran there. I saw that he was going to stab her,” Abdraim said. “I told him, ‘Take me hostage instead of her.’”
WARNING: The following video contains images that some may find offensive.
‼️🇷🇺🗡️ At the Almaty airport in #Kazakhstan a man with a knife took an employee hostage.
The quick thinking hostage grabbed the knife out of the man’s hand and he was arrested by police. pic.twitter.com/jH0NDoPug8
— Maimunka News (@MaimunkaNews) March 7, 2025
“I was really afraid he would stab her,” he later said.
Restrained by one arm, moments passed as Abdraim waited for the right moment to strike.
Then he snatched the knife and threw it before wrestling the captor to the ground.
At that point, several bystanders and security officers helped subdue and arrest the terrorist.
It is unclear if a bomb was actually present.
Abdraim was prepared for the harrowing incident.
“In the past, I did boxing, martial arts, Thai boxing, kickboxing,” he revealed. “But that was a long time ago.”
Authorities said the terrorist was a resident of Almaty, Kazakhstan, and faces up to 12 years in prison.
As for Abdraim, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered his cabinet to honor the hero with a medal, according to Ruslan Zheldibay, the president’s spokesman.
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