Afghan teen survives flight to Delhi by hiding in aircraft wheel well
New Delhi: In a rare and harrowing incident, a 13-year-old Afghan boy survived a flight to India by hiding in the rear wheel well of an aircraft, The New Indian Express has reported.
The teenager, who reportedly intended to sneak into Iran, mistakenly boarded a flight to Delhi on Sunday. He survived the 94-minute journey and landed safely at Indira Gandhi International Airport in stable physical condition, sources told The New Indian Express.
The flight, RQ4401 operated by Afghanistan’s KAM Air, departed Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul at 8:46 am IST and landed at Delhi’s Terminal 3 at 10:20 am. According to sources who spoke to The New Indian Express, the boy tailgated passengers at Kabul airport to access the plane and hid in the wheel well during boarding.
“This raises serious concerns about security screening processes at Kabul airport,” a source told The New Indian Express.
The stowaway was discovered after landing when a ground handler spotted him walking in the restricted apron area. The Central Industrial Security Force took him into custody and later handed him over to the airport police. As a minor, he is not subject to legal charges, officials told The New Indian Express.
Experts described the act as extraordinarily dangerous. Aviation specialist Captain Mohan Ranganathan explained to The New Indian Express that the boy may have survived because he entered an enclosed, pressurized section of the wheel bay, which maintained a temperature similar to the passenger cabin.
Dr. Ritin Mohindra, associate professor at PGIMER, Chandigarh, told The New Indian Express that survival at such altitudes is highly unlikely, given the risk of hypoxia, frostbite, and fatal hypothermia.
Globally, only one in five wheel well stowaways survive such journeys due to oxygen deprivation, extreme cold, and mechanical hazards. Sunday’s incident appears to be only the second recorded wheel well stowaway case at an Indian airport. The first occurred on October 14, 1996, when brothers Pradeep (22) and Vijay Saini (19) attempted to stow away on a British Airways flight from Delhi to London; only Pradeep survived.
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Separate nodal officer in all districts to prevent female foeticides in Karnataka: Minister
Belagavi (PTI): Accepting that the female foeticide has not stopped in the state, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday said that the government is taking strict measures to prevent it.
The minister said the government is appointing separate nodal officers in all districts and tightening measures to prevent foeticide, which he called a "social evil".
He also assured that the government will consider strengthening legislation to control such activities.
The minister was responding to a question by BJP MLC C T Ravi in the Legislative Council.
"Female foeticides have certainly not stopped. If you look at the sex ratio, there is a lot of difference. I accept that this is happening," Rao said.
"Foeticides are not happening under pressure; voluntarily, it is happening, for not wanting a girl child. These things are happening based on the sex determination of the foetus at some hospitals. Sex determination is illegal, but with the advancement in technology, portable ultrasound machines have been developed, which can be easily carried anywhere, and scans and tests can be done. This needs to be controlled. We will bring it to the notice of the central government," he said.
In some districts and in a few hospitals, a higher number of male child births is happening. It is found with the help of intelligence input, the minister said.
"Information is being gathered on the taluk in which the male-female ratio is worsening, what is happening in which hospital, and appropriate action is being taken to crack down on such a network, after proper evaluation."
Decoy operations have been done at seven places in the last two years, to identify those involved in illegal activities linked to female foeticides, and actions have been taken against officials and hospitals involved, he said, adding that more needs to be done on priority.
Responding to a question by Ravi about whether any stringent legislation is being brought, Rao said, the government will consider strengthening the legislation and making it stricter to control this.
"Some amendments have been made to the existing laws in the last two years....advanced technology and the internet is being used to carry out such things, also oral medicines for abortions are available over the counter.
We need to look into bringing legislation to control them. The Food and Drug Administration has issued instructions to pharmacists that the sale of such drugs should be documented."
The minister also said that measures are also being taken for the effective implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC & PNDT) Act, and awareness is being created against the identification of female foetuses and female foeticide.
