A WOMAN dubbed the ‘Napalm Girl' whose terrified expression and burned body captured the horror of the Vietnam War has been given a peace award.
The haunting image of a naked nine-year-old Kim Phuc running away from a toxic bomb attack in 1972 shocked the world.
AP:Associated Press4 This picture of Kim running naked away from her village in Vietnam shocked the world
The anti-war activist, now aged 55, was given the prestigious Dresden Prize today as recognition for her support of children wounded in war and for speaking out publicly against violence and hatred.
Kim, who lives in Canada and works closely with UN-backed agency UNESCO, was handed the award in Germany along with10,000 euros.
Past recipients of the prize include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and American civil rights activist Tommie Smith.
The Napalm Girl photo was snapped by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut who won the Pulitzer Prize for the iconic image in 1973.
We just kept running. My clothes were burned off by the fire
Kim sustained third-degree burns during the attack carried out by a South Vietnamese plane which believed her village was harbouring Viet Cong soldiers.
The nine-year-old was rushed to a hospital in Saigon by ITN correspondent Christopher Wan after the photograph was taken.
She was later moved to a speclaist plastic surgery facility where she underwent life-saving operations and stayed for 14 months.
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Kim, who is married and has two children, described the attack while speaking to the BBC.
She said: "I heard the noise of the bombs then suddenly I saw the fire everywhere around me.
“I was terrified and I ran out of the fire. I was with my brother and my cousin. We just kept running. My clothes were burned off by the fire."
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