Highlights:
- A 13-year-old Afghan boy secretly traveled from Kabul to Delhi by hiding in a plane’s landing gear.
- He survived the dangerous 1.5-hour journey despite extreme cold and lack of oxygen.
- Indian airport staff found him wandering after the plane landed.
- The Afghan boy said he did it only out of curiosity.
- Later, he was sent back to Kabul.
A Shocking Incident
In a shocking and almost unbelievable event, a 13-year-old Afghan boy risked his life by hiding in the landing gear of a Kam Air passenger plane. He traveled nearly 1,000 kilometers from Kabul, Afghanistan, to Delhi, India.
The boy survived the one-and-a-half-hour journey that could have easily killed him.
Found at Delhi Airport
On Monday, after the plane landed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, airport workers noticed the boy wandering around in confusion. They immediately caught him and handed him over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
Sent Back to Kabul
Officials said the boy was from Kunduz city in northern Afghanistan. After several hours of questioning, he was put on a return flight to Kabul the same afternoon.
During the interrogation, the Afghan boy explained the reason behind his risky decision:
“I did it only out of curiosity.”
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Avoided Security in Kabul
A CISF spokesperson said:
“The Kam Air flight landed in Delhi on Monday morning. The boy managed to escape the security barrier at Kabul airport and no one noticed him during the whole journey. He was caught while wandering aimlessly at the airport.”
Mistaken Destination
According to The Indian Express, the boy had actually wanted to go to Iran, not Delhi. He did not know that the flight was heading to India.
The report said he followed a group of passengers at Kabul airport, managed to avoid security checks, and hid in the back wheel compartment of the plane.
When searched, officials found only a small red audio speaker with him.
Expert Opinion: A Miracle Survival
Aviation experts explained that commercial planes fly at an altitude of 30,000–40,000 feet. At such heights, temperatures drop below minus 50°C and there is a severe lack of oxygen.
Under these conditions, a person hiding in the plane’s landing gear can suffer hypoxia (lack of oxygen), hypothermia (extreme cold), or fall to death when the plane lands. Survival is almost impossible.
Rare but Not the First Case
In recent years, desperate people have tried to secretly fly to Europe or the US by hiding in planes. However, surviving such risky journeys is extremely rare.
In 2022, a Kenyan man was found alive in the wheel compartment of a cargo plane in Amsterdam. That incident also shocked the world.
Source: TBS
