AFP learned from a source at the airport that Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian political refugee who spent more than 18 years at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, died on Saturday. Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks, is based on the story of the Iranians.
Mehran Karimi Nasseri, also known as “Sir Alfred”, was born in 1945. He began living in November 1988 at Roissy Airport north of Paris after a series of wanderings through London, Berlin or Amsterdam in search of his mother. Each time he was expelled by the authorities because he could not provide any papers. In 1999 he was granted refugee status and residence permit in France.
He became an icon at the airport and became the subject of countless radio and television reports, both in France and abroad. In 2004, his character was made into a movie by director Steven Spielbergen “The Terminal”.
After the film, the man reportedly ended up in an asylum in France. He is said to have spent most of the money he earned for the film, and returned to the airport a few weeks earlier. There, in Building 2F, he died shortly before noon on Saturday. Mehran Karimi Nasseri died of natural causes. He still had several thousand euros in his pocket.
Watch the trailer for “The Terminal” below:
Read also:
Unlimited free access to Showbytes? And that can!
Sign in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.
“Creator. Award-winning problem solver. Music evangelist. Incurable introvert.”
More Stories
An official ceremony for Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan (photos)
Ten dead after a helicopter collision – in the sky
Indian Prime Minister Modi accused of hate speech after statements in which he described Muslims as “invaders”