Moroccan Migrants Allegedly Orchestrate Mid-Flight Escape Plan via Facebook Group

According to the first elements of the investigation carried out by the police, it appears that the emergency landing in Palma of an Air Arabia aircraft from Morocco would have been designed and planned on a Facebook group called Brooklyn, and which is run by young Moroccans, reports the Spanish agency EFE, which points out that the group has thousands of young Moroccans.

"Guys, listen, most want to emigrate. Follow this plan: we need 40 volunteers, Brooklyn members who have to book the flight to Turkey via Spain," says this message posted on the Facebook group, in which it is explained that a passenger should pretend to be sick until the crew is forced to make an emergency landing and thus allow the others to escape through the airport tarmac. "Agree, we’re going to act in the next few days. If you’re interested, let us know," it says.

The group administrator would be a Moroccan native of Casablanca. After the plane’s rapid landing for medical reasons, the head of the Brooklyn group informs the passengers of the evacuation plan on his Facebook profile, which has 15,000 subscribers. He stresses that "Brooklyn is not just any group, but a legend".

The Palma de Mallorca police finally managed to arrest on Saturday, November 6, 12 people among the passengers who fled when the plane landed urgently on the tarmac of one of the most frequented airports in Spain in the Balearic Islands.

One of the members of this Facebook group explained to EFE that "Brooklyn" is meant to be a space for leisure and "exchange of jokes", but also for solidarity, and recalls that actions have been organized there to raise money and help people in need.