NEED TO KNOW
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Influencer Ethan Guo, 19, speaks out after his alleged detainment in Antarctica, following accusations he landed on Chilean territory with out permission
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Guo, who goals to lift $1 million for most cancers analysis, was arrested on June 28 and later agreed to donate $30,000 to an area charity and keep away from Chilean territory for 3 years
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Regardless of studies he’s allowed to go away, Guo claims he stays caught in Antarctica, sharing his story in a press release obtained by PEOPLE on Aug. 14
Influencer Ethan Guo is talking out following his alleged detainment after being accused of touchdown on Chilean territory in Antarctica with out permission.
PEOPLE beforehand reported that Guo, 19, started his journey at Genève Aéroport in 2024 “to turn out to be the primary individual in historical past to fly solo to all seven continents in a small plane. The influencer additionally plans to lift $1 million for most cancers analysis, per his web site.
Nonetheless, Guo was arrested on June 28 by authorities and accused of touchdown in Antarctica with out permission and submitting a false flight plan.
He was granted permission to go away Antarctica six weeks after the arrest. This got here after he agreed to donate $30,000 to a youngsters’s most cancers basis inside 30 days and to not reenter Chilean territory for 3 years, PEOPLE reported earlier this month.
In a press release to PEOPLE obtained on Thursday, Aug. 14, the pilot claimed that he is been unable to go away Antarctica.
Associated: https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf
“I’ve maintained from the very starting that I’m harmless, so I’m grateful to lastly have that formally acknowledged,” he mentioned. “This course of has been prolonged, and I consider it might have been resolved a lot sooner had all proof been thought of from the beginning.”
“I’m nonetheless in Antarctica awaiting approval for my departure flight, and I sincerely hope that clearance shall be granted quickly so I, and my aircraft, can proceed on my unique mission of elevating cash for St. Jude Youngsters’s Analysis Hospital,” he concluded.
Guo additionally mentioned he was “grateful” and “relieved” that the costs in opposition to him have been dropped, per ABC Information.
SALVATORE DI NOLFI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Ethan Guo in 2024
He claimed that he is misplaced weight throughout his alleged detainment on the island, saying he felt like a “prisoner” and that authorities “will not let me go away,” in keeping with the outlet.
Guo’s lawyer additionally advised ABC Information that “regardless of his exoneration, the Chilean authorities has not allowed him to fly his airworthy aircraft off the bottom.”
PEOPLE has contacted the Chilean nationwide legislation enforcement for remark.
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Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone through AP
Ethan Guo in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, earlier than his take off from Geneva Airport
The content material creator additionally claimed that authorities had advised him he couldn’t go away as a result of quite a few causes, together with poor climate, the aircraft not being in the proper situation, there not being sufficient gas and their perception that Guo just isn’t expert sufficient to fly.
“All 4 of these statements are objectively false,” Guo advised ABC Information. “I’ve all of the paperwork. I’ve insurance coverage that even covers Antarctica. The aircraft has sufficient gas, the aircraft is working. And I’m a professional pilot.”
Guo additionally mentioned he would not be capable of use a ship to depart as a result of its rare schedule. He added that his objective is to return to his journey.
“I need to have the ability to proceed to battle in opposition to most cancers and proceed the mission,” he mentioned.
In a press release obtained by PEOPLE, Guo’s representatives at Croft & Johnson LLP, wrote, “Regardless of his exoneration, the Chilean authorities has not allowed him to fly his airworthy aircraft off the bottom, leading to his de facto confinement on the island for a month and a half.”
“The stress of this ordeal has brought about a extreme deterioration in his well being, together with a 10kg weight reduction and a analysis of pericarditis (irritation of the guts’s outer membrane),” the assertion continued.
Guo additionally shared the letter on his Instagram Tales earlier than writing in one other submit that he was “free” and that the aircraft was “in flying situation.”
“However I’m nonetheless caught in Antarctica as a result of they received’t let me fly again,” he added.
He then linked a St. Jude Fundraising web page that has to date raised $134,677 out of a $1,000,000 objective.
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