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Man 'sucked to his death' out of hole in Somalian passenger jet after onboard explosion

'I think it was a bomb. Luckily, the flight controls were not damaged so I could return and land at the airport.'

Matt Payton
Wednesday 03 February 2016 09:36 GMT
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Somalia: Alleged bomb explosion on plane forces passengers to evacuate mid-air

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A man has reportedly been 'sucked to his death' when an alleged bomb explosion made a hole in the side of a passenger jet.

Another two people were confirmed injured in the explosion on the Daallo Airlines flight heading from Mogadishu to Djibouti.

Despite losing cabin pressure caused by the hole above one of the wings, the pilot was able to use the undamaged flight controls to safely return the passengers to Mogadishu International Airport.

Somali authorities discovered the body of an old man 30km north of Mogadishu which they believe fell from the plane, CNN report.

The hole seen from inside the aircraft
The hole seen from inside the aircraft (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The plane's Serbian pilot, Vladimir Vodopivec, 64, told Belgrade newspaper Blic: "I think it was a bomb.

"Luckily, the flight controls were not damaged so I could return and land at the airport.

"Something like this has never happened in my flight career. We lost pressure in the cabin. Thank god it ended well."

The Somalian government has not confirmed suspicions that the explosion was caused by a bomb but are currently investigating the incident.

As a result of the incident all flights in and out of the airport were briefly suspended on Tuesday.

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