Dubai - Teenager flies to Dubai in Emirates plane cargo

AP/Dubai

Filed on May 31, 2016 | Last updated on May 31, 2016 at 10.05 pm

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The airline, said the stowaway was found in the cargo hold of Flight EK303 from Shanghai on Friday, May 27.

A teenage boy sneaked into the cargo hold of an Emirates passenger plane in China and made it all the way to Dubai before being apprehended, the airline and Chinese media said Tuesday.

The airline, said the stowaway was found in the cargo hold of Flight EK303 from Shanghai on Friday, May 27.

"We are cooperating fully with authorities in Dubai and as this is a police matter we are unable to comment further at this time," the airline said in an emailed statement.

It did not give any details on the identity or condition of the stowaway, though China's official Xinhua News Agency said he was a 16-year-old boy it identified only by his surname, Xu.

He tried to make the risky journey because he had heard that beggars in Dubai could earn hundreds of thousands of yuan annually, the news agency reported.

Dubai police and the Chinese consulate did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Xinhua reported that the consulate has sent staffers to the airport to learn more about the situation. A translator appointed by prosecutors said the teen jumped over a fence at the Shanghai airport and climbed into the cargo hold while a security guard looked away, the agency said.