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A Mario Balotelli look-alike used a stolen passport to get on board the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, a Malaysian aviation official said on Monday, according to ABC News.
According to the report, the two men who boarded the flight—which has seemingly disappeared into thin air en route from Malaysia to Beijing, along with 237 other passengers and crew—through illicit means have been at the center of the investigation. The two passengers are said to have used stolen passports taken from an Austrian and an Italian.
After reviewing surveillance tape from the boarding "from check-in right to departure," Malaysian officials have said that all security protocols were followed.
As the country's civil aviation chief, Dato' Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, was peppered with questions from reporters, he was asked to describe them. "We confirmed now they are not Asian-looking males," Rahman first said conservatively before he was further pressed.
"Do you know a footballer by the name of Bartoli? Do you know what he looks like?" Rahman added, referring to one of the men.
Of course he meant Italian soccer player Balotelli, who is black. When asked if the man was black, Rahman said yes.
Investigators still don't know what happened to the plane, which is a Boeing 777 jet.
Read more at ABC News.