This is the moment (see video) when the four North Africans who fled an aircraft at Palma airport were detained in Sa Pobla on Tuesday night after being on the run for 12 days. They have since been remanded in custody.
They were on the most wanted list in Spain after they managed to evade security at Palma airport and melt into the night after their plane made an emergency landing following an alleged medical emergency. In total 22 North Africans fled the plane at the airport, twelve were arrested within minutes but others managed to escape. It is reported than two even reached Barcelona.
The four were found in a square in Sa Pobla and detained in a joint National Police and Guardia Civil operation.
Charges brought against the passengers include two counts of sedition, facilitating illegal immigration and making threats. The judge in Palma, who heard the cases of the twelve passengers initially detained, reported that the crew did not close the plane's doors, despite the airport's recommendations, for fear of being attacked.
In his statement, the pilot highlighted the "chaos" and "aggressiveness" on the plane. One of the flight attendants had to be treated for injuries. The judge concluded that there was "clear disobedience" on behalf of some of the passengers and that crew members were attacked before these passengers left the plane, which caused operations at the airport to be suspended for security reasons.