Twelve of the passengers who fled from an Air Arabia Maroc plane forced to make an emergency landing in Mallorca last night due to an alleged illness on board were arrested. This was reported by the Spanish police, according to which the searches continue for the other passengers who got off the plane that departed from Casablanca and headed for Istanbul.
The person who had accused the illness, claiming to have diabetic shock, transported to the hospital proved to be in perfect health, which is why the authorities believe it was a staging orchestrated by a group of passengers to enter Spain illegally .
Following the escape, Son San Juan airport was closed yesterday for over three hours and 27 flights were diverted to Ibiza, Barcelona and Valencia, while 20 departing flights were postponed for a few hours, while only this morning was able to leave the plane of Air Arabia Maroc. The recaptured passengers will be repatriated to their country of origin, after being identified and sent to a reception center, while the search for the other 12 still missing.
Aina Calvo, delegate of the Spanish government to the Balearics, explained in a press conference that the police are now investigating to understand whether the landing was the result of a ploy to illegally introduce migrants to Spain or an episode that happened spontaneously without premeditation. For the moment “there are no elements” that would make the first hypothesis certain, he added.