The Afghan boy in landing gear bay: A story of survival

The sight instantly triggered alarm bells, kicking off a multi-agency response involving immigration authorities, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the Union home and external affairs ministries, among others, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

- Prawesh Lama and Neha LM Tripathi

It turned out that the 13-year-old - identified by officials by only his first name, Faizal - had made the perilous 90-minute journey hidden inside the wheel-well of the aircraft, an impossibly dangerous feat that has killed many who attempted it.

The Kam Air flight RQ 4401 landed at IGIA at 10.20am. About 20 minutes later, an airline security officer noticed the boy wandering barefoot on the apron, his clothes dusty, his feet blistered, and his only belongings a few medicines in his pocket. "By 11.10am, the Security Operations Control Centre was alerted and the boy was ushered to the arrival deportee room," an official aware of the matter said.