(Miami) An illegal immigrant who hid in the undercarriage of an American Airlines plane survived a nearly three-hour flight from Guatemala City to Miami before being arrested, the police said on Sunday. US border police.
The 26-year-old man, whose nationality has not been disclosed, was apprehended by border guards on Saturday morning and taken to hospital for a medical assessment, the US Customs and Border Protection Service said (CBP) in a press release.
A video circulating on the Internet and relayed by the American media shows a man, dressed in a simple light jacket, disoriented who sits on the tarmac, under the worried gaze of airport employees shouting: “he has survived ”.
“People take extreme risks when they try to hide in confined spaces like that of an airplane. These facts are under investigation, ”the authorities added.
Temperatures drop from a certain altitude, and illegal immigrants hiding in the aircraft landing gear are at risk of dying from hypothermia, lack of oxygen, or falling from the aircraft, underlines the American aviation agency FAA, which published a study on the subject.
At least 129 people have been found concealed in the wheels or other spaces of commercial flights since 1947 in the United States, according to the FAA. Of these 129 people, 100 died from injuries related to the extreme conditions of this type of trip.