Nearly 30 passengers attempted to flee into Spain on Wednesday, after a plane made an emergency landing because a pregnant woman allegedly faked going into labour.
The incident happened during Pegasus Airlines flight PC652 from Casablanca to Istanbul, which was reportedly transporting 228 passengers.
The pregnant woman is said to have simulated labour contractions mid-air, causing the crew to decide on an emergency landing at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport.
Crew had called ahead to seek medical assistance and upon landing at Barcelona, there was an ambulance and three police patrols waiting on the runway.
The emergency responders were ready to assist with what appeared to be an impending birth. However, it was later established by doctors at a hospital that while the woman was pregnant, she was not currently in labour.
As the pregnant woman was being evacuated from the plane, 27 passengers “exited the aircraft without authorisation” before trying to flee from border officials, NZ Herald reported, citing Catalonian government sources.
The passengers attempting to flee the plane are thought to be Moroccan migrants.
Flight Emergency also posted a video on Twitte showing what appeared to be passengers running from the plane onto the runway at Barcelona Airport, and attempting to evade waiting authorities.
According to reports, 14 of the fleeing passengers were stopped by police and arrested. 13 people successfully fled from officials and remain unaccounted for in Spain.
Five people were subsequently brought back onto the flight to continue their onward journey to Istanbul, while officials are currently processing the rest of the passengers.
According to officials, these eight detained passengers are expected to be boarded onto another Pegasus flight out of Spain after being processed for non-admission.
The pregnant woman is said to be among the group of passengers being deported to Morocco.
It follows dozens of migrants attempting to cross the border between Morocco and Spain on 24 June, with footage emerging of the incident shortly afterwards.
Video of the moment shows large groups of people trying to climb a fence standing between Morocco’s Nador and Spain’s Melilla, with objects being thrown at Moroccan police attempting to stop the crossing by using tear gas.
The Independent has contacted Spain’s Policia Nacional for comment.
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