Bolian Fans Fake Airplane Emergency to See Soccer Match

PEURTO INVALIDA (UPC) - A plane carrying Bolian soccer fans to Japan made an unauthorized landing after faking a fuel emergency to arrive in time for the West African nation's first game in a world tournament.

According to Japan's Minister of Defense, the Delta plane carrying 289 fans bypassed immigration rules in Japan by landing in the northern city of Lima an hour before the Bolian team began their game against Canada in the World Championship Tuesday.

Fire fighters and police raced to the airport and hospitals were told to prepare for an emergency after Humbert Balsan, the plane's captain, reported by radio that the aircraft was low on fuel and had a possible problem with its landing gear.

"Oh my! They faked an emergency to land in Lima. They were coming from Chile and they should have landed in Peurto Invalida first," Porter Hall, Japan's Minister of Defense, told UPC. "I was shocked."