Boy Playing in Shipping Container Ends Up in Another Country

He entered container in Bangladesh, exited in Malaysia 6 days later
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 31, 2023 2:30 AM CST
Boy Playing Hide and Seek in Shipping Container Ends Up 1.8K Miles Away
   (Getty Images / nespix)

A 15-year-old boy apparently playing hide and seek entered a shipping container in Bangladesh ... and didn't exit until six days later, when the container had been transported to Malaysia. That's 1,600 nautical miles, or more than 1,840 miles, according to maritime tracking site FleetMon. The Malaysian National News Agency reports that when the boy, identified only as Fahim, was found inside the shipping container in Malaysia on Jan. 17, authorities were able to rule out human trafficking. "The boy was just believed to have entered the container, fell asleep, and found himself here," Malaysia's home minister says.

Fahim, who was reportedly playing hide and seek with his friends at the time, is said to have fallen asleep once inside the shipping container and was then accidentally locked inside, the Times of India reports. Authorities struggled to communicate with him when he was found, as he doesn't speak the language. He also had a fever and was taken for medical attention; he'd been without food or water during the journey. Malaysian authorities said he would be repatriated. Video of the confused, emaciated boy emerging from the shipping container went viral on Reddit and can be viewed here. (More shipping container stories.)

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