Migrant stowaway survivives flight from Ethiopia

Sunday July 7, 2019

A stowaway refugee found on a plane from Ethiopia to the Swedish capital Stockholm survived the 10-hour journey via Vienna in a pressurized container in the cargo hold, police said on Monday.

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The man, 27, said he was an Ethiopian national and has submitted an asylum application in Sweden, police spokesperson Lars Bystrom told dpa. Police and paramedics were alerted, but a check-up showed he did not require medical treatment.

He was discovered at Stockholm Arlanda Airport by baggage handlers unloading an Ethiopian Airlines flight that arrived early Monday, said Johan Live of Swedaviam, the company that operates the airport.

Police have launched an investigation into possible human trafficking.

In August, another stowaway from Ethiopia survived a similar journey in the cargo hold of another flight to Stockholm. He also applied for asylum and said via an interpreter that he had hidden in the cargo hold at Addis Ababa's Bole Airport.

The previous stowaway was in possession of a badge identifying him as an airport employee, which could explain how he managed to get on board the plane, the Swedish border police said at the time.

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