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Vintage air rally pilots released after Ethiopia detention

vintage-air-rallyAt least 20 aircraft pilots taking part in a vintage plane rally have been released after being detained in Ethiopia, officials say.

The group according to BBC News had been held at the airport in Gambela, western Ethiopia after ”illegally” crossing into the country from Sudan.

Organisers say the group is now free to continue their journey to South Africa.

The aviators are travelling the length of Africa in biplanes built in the 1920s and 1930s and support aircraft.

According to the announcement made by the group on it’s Facebook page: “VintageAirRally crew are allowed to fly on from Ethiopia!”

The rally had been put on hold as diplomats tried to secure the release of at least 47 crew members in the past two days, BBC reports.

The planes took off from the Greek island of Crete on 12 November on a 13,000km (8,000 mile) journey to Cape Town.

However, the head of Ethiopia’s civil aviation authority, Wosenyele Hungnall, told the BBC that the aircraft had crossed illegally into Ethiopian airspace from Sudan.

A British pilot who had been reported missing was found to be among those detained.

On its Facebook page, Vintage Air Rally said that Maurice Kirk, 72, was with other pilots in Gambela who were all “safe and accounted for”.

The aviators aim to cross 10 countries, making 37 stops in more than a month with Kenya as their next planned stop.

 

Posted by Juliet Ekwebelam

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