Spanish authorities remain on the hunt for 12 foreign nationals who fled a commercial airplane during an emergency landing at Barcelona’s El Prat airport early on Wednesday.
The plane, which was carrying a total of 228 passengers from Casablanca to Istanbul, diverted to Spain’s second city after a pregnant woman on board faked going into labor.
As the flight was grounded, a group of 28 passengers took the opportunity to flee the aircraft as soon as the doors had opened upon landing and escape across the tarmac, according to the Spanish government.
Half of the runaways were detained almost immediately, including the pregnant woman who had claimed her water had broken, while a further two were arrested later, one inside the airport and one in the nearby area.
Of the initial 14 who were captured, five were returned to the Pegasus Airlines aircraft and the rest are to be deported back to Morocco.
The pregnant woman was escorted to a nearby hospital where no evidence was found to suggest she was in labor. She has since been arrested on public disorder charges and is scheduled to be deported.
