Police were Thursday hunting for three Algerians who jumped off a moving plane and scaled the perimeter fence at Rome's Fiumicino airport to avoid being deported.
The trio forced open an emergency door on the plane as it taxied on the runway late Wednesday, slid down the exit chutes and fled, as passengers and crew looked on.
The three men, aged 21, 24 and 27 were among 18 Algerians aboard the scheduled flight from Rome to Istanbul who were due to be deported.
One of the men had previously been deported from Italy and all three had entered Italy during a stopover in Rome on the outward flight from Algiers to Istanbul.