Nearly thirty migrants reportedly made a daring bid for freedom in Spain after a plane made an Istanbul-bound plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Barcelona when a female co-conspirator on the flight faked going into labour.
According to sources quoted by local media, around 28 migrants fled the aircraft after it had landed at Barcelona El Prat Airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning as medics rushed to the aid of the woman.
The passengers, who are all believed to be illegal migrants, dashed onto the taxiway in a sprint for the airport fences with police giving chase behind them. At least 14 have so far been tracked down and arrested, along with the female passenger who prompted the diversion.
The drama unfolded in the early hours of Wednesday morning as Pegasus Airlines flight flew from Casablanca to Istanbul. The plane made its unscheduled stop in Spain at around 4 am, and despite the daring escape bid, the flight was allowed to continue on to Turkey after several hours.
The incident is incredibly similar to a migrant escape last November after a passenger on an Air Arabia flight from Morocco faked a medical emergency, resulting in the plane making an unscheduled stop on the Spanish island of Mallorca.
That incident resulted in a full-scale lockdown of the airport as Spain’s Civil Guard carried out a search for the escapees.
Around 228 passengers were onboard the Pegasus Airlines flight to Istanbul on Wednesday. Eight of the escaped passengers even reportedly agreed to voluntarily return to the plane and continue their journey to Turkey.
The others are likely to be deported once the necessary paperwork is completed. The Civil Guard is yet to comment on the incident.
