Passenger 'on drugs' bites air marshal

Mumbai: Security officials at the Mumbai international airport had to attend to an unlikely visitor for more than three days after a flight from Cairo off-loaded him early on Friday morning.
A Nigerian national, Ojo Joshua Oladele, who was on board a Cairo-Kuala Lumpur flight, had to be grounded at Mumbai airport for allegedly violent behaviour on board the flight under the influence of drugs. The passenger, who stayed with the security officials at the airport till Monday, had allegedly misbehaved with the airline crew, assaulted them, and even bit the arm of the air-marshal who tried to calm him down.
The flight had to make an emergency landing at Mumbai as "his behaviour became uncontrollable'', said a security official. He was sent to Cooper Hospital on Monday evening after he started showing withdrawal symptoms in the custody of security officials.
Sources said he is still recuperating in hospital.
According to sources, the Egypt Air flight MF 968 made an emergency landing in Mumbai at around 3 am on Friday.
While in usual cases all unruly passengers are handed over to the local police, the Nigerian national had to be kept in the airport itself as he did not have an Indian visa to get past the immigration counters.
"He could not be taken out due to a visa problem. All medical assistance was provided to the passenger inside the airport. The passenger soon started showing withdrawal symptoms. He was vomiting repeatedly and had to be taken to Cooper Hospital,'' said a senior security official. "He will be sent back to Cairo after his condition improves,'' the official added.
13/05/09 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports May 2009, Foreign May 2009