Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: CEN
A flight was grounded this morning when a dead foetus was found on board after it was flushed down the toilet.
The human foetus was found on the South African company FlySafair flight FA411 that was supposed to take off at 06:15 today (Friday).
The company announced on its website that there was a delay saying simply: “FlySafair regrets to inform customers of a delay to flight FA411 this morning from Durban to Johannesburg.
Pictures Credit: CEN & CEN/kingshakainternational.co.za
“Upon final checks of the waste management system our teams encountered a finding which requires formal investigation from technical teams and police authorities. The issue which has unfortunately meant that the aircraft would be unable to operate this flight.”
Passengers took to social media to say that they had been informed that it was a tiny body that had been found in the plane’s waste management system.
And Colin Naidoo, who is the spokesman for Airports Company South Africa, speaking on behalf of the airport, also confirmed that police were on the scene and said: “We can confirm that a foetus was found on an aircraft and it is a police matter.”
Kirby Gordon, a spokesman for FlySafair, then also later confirmed his understanding that it was a human foetus and added: “Police are investigating and the plane should be released to us soon.”
All the other passengers meanwhile have been moved to alternative flights, he said.
He added: “At this stage we are unable to comment on the finding other than to say that the relevant authorities were immediately alerted and are performing a thorough investigation. FlySafair will do anything we can to assist them in their efforts. Our teams are working with the relevant parties to initiate a backup plan. At this stage we are evaluating the time required to initiate necessary repairs versus deploying a new aircraft.”
Colonel Thembeka Mbele from the KwaZulu-Natal police department said that “a case of concealment of birth” was being investigated by King Shaka Airport based police officers.
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