Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

Fake illness? Police investigate suspicious Facebook ad after 12 passengers vanish from plane during emergency landing

Fake illness? Police investigate suspicious Facebook ad after 12 passengers vanish from plane during emergency landing

Spanish police have launched an investigation into an incident that saw 12 passengers run away from a Turkey-bound plane that made an emergency landing in Mallorca. Authorities are trying to find out if the incident was staged.

The Spanish authorities suspect they might have fallen victim to a clever ruse devised by a group of would-be migrants seeking to make their way into Spain. The country's police have launched an investigation into a potential migration law violation after 23 passengers attempted to escape an Air Arabia flight en route from Morocco to Turkey as it made an emergency landing on the Spanish island of Mallorca on Friday.

The plane was forced to land after one of the passengers on board seemingly suffered what appeared to be a diabetic coma and asked for medical attention. When he was rushed to hospital, it suddenly turned out that the man was quite alive and well.

Other passengers apparently seized this opportunity to flee the plane. A video circulating on social media, which has since been confirmed as authentic by the police, shows around a dozen people rushing through the plane’s cabin and running across the tarmac.


Eleven passengers were detained by law enforcement. Another 12, including a person that accompanied the man pretending to be sick to the hospital, vanished without a trace. The man, who faked his illness, was discharged from hospital and was detained on suspicion of “encouraging immigration and violating the Spanish immigration law.”

The police believed the whole incident to be a result of “improvisation and opportunity” until they stumbled upon a Facebook ad recruiting people for a plan that strikingly resembled the Friday incident.

The author of the post, which has since been deleted, looked for some 40 people for a “plan” that also involved faking an illness to force an emergency plane landing to get to Spain. According to the plan, one person would also be responsible for “handling the GPS” to ensure the timing was right. Meanwhile, others would start actively demanding the “sick” person get aid in case a captain refuses to make an emergency landing.

The ad written in Arabic had more than 6,500 views before being deleted, El Pais reported. The police continue to question the detained passengers, although they have not established an “obvious and identifiable” relationship between the detainees so far, the media added.

Those detained will go to court on Monday, facing deportation to their home countries. The Civil Guard and National Police patrols continue to search for the remaining 12 passengers, who are still on the run.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×