Iranian who inspired 'The Terminal' dies at Paris airport

In this file photo taken on Aug 12, 2004 Mehran Karimi Nasseri looks at a poster of the movie inspired by his life, in the terminal 1 of Paris Charles De Gaulle airport.

PARIS: An Iranian man who lived for 18 years in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport and whose saga loosely inspired the Steven Spielberg film "The Terminal" died Saturday (Nov 12) in the airport that he long called home, say officials.

Mehran Karimi Nasseri died at the age of 77 after a heart attack in the airport’s Terminal 2F around midday, according an official with the Paris airport authority. Police and a medical team treated him but were not able to save him, the official said. The official was not authorized to be publicly named.