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Journalism of Courage
The internet is a vast repository of information and with just a few clicks people, including children, can get to know anything they want. A nine-year-old boy in Brazil did just that and googled “how to get onto a plane unnoticed” to travel nearly 2,700 kilometres away from home.
The boy reportedly ran away from his home in Manaus and sneaked into a Latam Airlines flight to reach Guarulhos in Greater São Paulo. JC Net, a local media website, reported the police investigating the case said the “child acted completely alone” and managed to “circumvent security systems” to get into the plane.
It was only after the flight was in transit that the crew noticed the unaccompanied minor and notified the Federal Police and the Guardianship Council, who tried to get information about the child, JC Net added.
The boy, later identified as Emanuel Marques de Oliveira, was reported as missing by his family on February 26 after his mother Daniele Marques noticed her son was not in his bed in the morning, R7 reported. The mother received the call about the boy’s whereabouts only at 10 pm that night. Talking to Record TV Manaus, the mother said that “he boarded without documents, with nothing”.
The child was sheltered overnight under the care of the Guardianship Council and took a flight the next day to return home, SSC 10 reported. “The mother intends to sue the Manaus airport administrator and the airline,” the report added.
The airport authorities too have started to investigate the matter. Latam Airlines Brazil informed Revista Cenarium that it is also investigating the incident but did not give further details. The report added the investigation revealed that the child has no history of family violence and, “the reason for the trip would be the desire to live in São Paulo, with other relatives.”
