A 15-year-old Bangladeshi boy was freed after being locked for close to a week inside a shipping container he hid inside during a game of hide-and-seek.
The boy, who was identified only as Fahim, was reportedly playing hide-and-seek with his friends on Jan. 11 when he decided to hide in the shipping container and accidentally locked himself in, according to KCPQ.
The container started out in a port in Chittagong and was transported on a commercial ship to West Port, Malaysia, over 1,600 miles away, according to CBS News. Fahim was discovered six days later, on Jan. 17.
Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the boy is believed to have entered the container and then fallen asleep, KCPQ reported. While officials initially thought Fahim was a victim of human trafficking, they later determined that his predicament was completely accidental and that the boy was alone in the container.
“The relevant authorities have investigated the case and their investigations found no elements of human trafficking,” Ismail said, according to KCPQ. (RELATED: REPORT: Texas DPS Finds 50 Illegal Immigrants Hiding In Container, Says 5 Were Human Smugglers)
Fahim was found after workers heard a knocking noise coming from inside the container, according to the Daily Mail.
A video of his rescue showed the thin boy appearing confused and speaking a language unknown by locals.
#Watch: Media reports say that Fahim accidentally fell asleep in the container, which was then loaded onto a ship at Chittagong Port in #Bangladesh. Authorities in #Malaysia confirmed that the 15-year-old boy found six days later, dehydrated and starvedhttps://t.co/gW9wZuog0t pic.twitter.com/QuqHRSDZkH
— Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) January 30, 2023
Fahim was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where he is currently recovering, the Daily Mail reported. Immigration officials are now working to return him home.