Five Afghan refugees detained after getting on airport runway while attempting to flee police
Five Afghan refugees have been detained after they attempted to flee the police by running towards the Adana Airport and getting on the runway. One and a half hours after this incident, operations at the airport resumed back to normal.
Duvar English
Turkish police on Nov. 2 stopped a lorry during a regular inspection in the vicinity of the Adana Airport in southern Turkey, and found 72 Afghan refugees packed in the vehicle.
After determining that the refugees had entered Turkey via illegal means, the police had them get off the truck, Turkish media outlets reported.
It was at this point that five refugees tried to flee the scene and ran towards the Adana Airport. They climbed up the walls of the airport and ran towards the runway, leading to a halt of flights.
A pilot who had just landed the plane on the runway, noticed the crowd running and brought the plane to a stop.
Five refugees were later detained by the police, and after one and a half hours, the operations at the airport resumed back to normal.
Sixty-seven of the refugees will be deported, whereas a legal action will be launched against the five refugees who attempted to flee the police.
In recent months, Turkey has been strengthening its borders and taking other steps to prevent the influx of refugees from Afghanistan, especially following the Taliban's takeover of the country.