Plane Grounded After Foetus Was Found Blocking The Toilet

A passenger jet was stopped from taking off in South Africa after a foetus was found blocking a toilet.

Cleaners found the abandoned remains in the toilet of the plane today at around 6.15am on the domestic FlySafair airline.

The discovery prompted the offloading of all passengers and a police investigation was launched.

The foetus was discovered by cleaning staff as the jet was being prepared and passengers boarded for an early morning flight from the coastal city of Durban to Johannesburg.

Police confirmed the incident and said they were investigating after the remains were found in the toilet 'cistern', according to local media.

FlySafair said the 'tragic finding' forced them to evacuate the plane while procedures started to investigate the findings.

In a statement the South African budget airline added: 'Upon final preparations of the waste management system for the departure of flight, our technical crew discovered what appeared to be an abandoned foetus.'

Passengers were asked to disembark the plane and their journeys were re-scheduled.

Witnesses reported that they were preparing to take off when the pilot announced the discovery and that the plane was now a 'crime scene'. 

Kirby Gordon, a FlySafair executive, said: 'We will be doing everything within our power to aid authorities in the necessary investigations and thank our loyal customers for their patience with the resultant delay.'

All passengers have now been booked onto alternate flights by staff at the airport, according to the statement from the airline.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesman Colonel Thembeka Mbele officers were investigating the case as a 'concealment of birth'.

He told South African site News24 in a statement: 'We can confirm a foetus was found in a toilet by cleaning staff inside [an] aircraft at an international airport earlier [on Friday] morning.

'A case of concealment of birth is [being] investigated by King Shaka Airport SAPS.'

South African law around the disposal of a foetus is complicated and bans the concealment of a birth.

But it is rare for anyone who disposes of a foetus to be found guilty of murder, according to The South African.