Police say they have managed to detain more than half the people who barged out the plane at Barcelona's El Prat airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning (December 7) following reports of a medical emergency on board.

Among those captured was a pregnant woman, who authorities say had pretended that her water had broken, which prompted the emergency landing, the government said.

"As they were disembarking the pregnant woman, a group of 28 people left the plane and tried to flee," a source in the central government's delegation in Catalonia told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Upon conducting further medical exams in hospital, it was found that the woman was in fact not in labor at the time of the incident. 

"The woman was taken to Sant Joan de Deu hospital for a check-up, which found no signs she was in labor so she was discharged and arrested for disturbing the public order by claiming she had gone into labor," the source added.

Several remaining at large

Two further individuals were arrested later, one of whom was apprehended inside the airport and the other who was found outside.

Twelve people remain at large, with police continuing their efforts to locate the runaways.

The plane, operated by Turkey's Pegasus Airlines, was carrying a total of 228 passengers traveling from Casablanca to Istanbul.

Five of those detained were put back on the plane at their own request after being accepted back by the airline staff to travel on to Istanbul as scheduled.

At least eight others are understood to have been deported to Morocco.

Read more: 'Hot returns': Are pushbacks at Europe's land borders lawful?

Repeat scenario

A similar incident occurred in October last year, also involving a flight from Morocco to Turkey on Pegasus.

On November 5, 2021, group of passengers fled the flight after landing under false pretext at Spain’s Palma de Mallorca island airport. 

A passenger had claimed to feel unwell due to a diabetes-related condition. As he was being taken off the plane, 24 people managed to dash off and onto the tarmac.

The man was subsequently taken to hospital, where he was found to be fine. Later, he was arrested for disturbing the public order.

Twelve of the passengers were intercepted and arrested, while another 12 managed to escape. All but one of the runaways were thought to be Moroccans.

Desperate measures

In recent weeks, other attempts at entering EU territory by irregular means have caught media attention.

Two weeks ago, three migrants were rescued by the Spanish coast guard after traveling from Nigeria atop the rudder of a cargo ship. They were reportedly perched together in the small space for 11 days. 

Last week, a migrant managed to cross into the Spanish exclave of Melilla from Morocco, using a paraglide to pass all border checks and fortifications.

Read more: Hidden from sight: The dangers of clandestine migration journeys

with Reuters, AFP, DW