The body of an unidentified man was shockingly discovered in the undercarriage of a plane after it landed at an airport in London. Police confirmed the horrifying discovery was made in the early hours of December 8 when the TUI aircraft landed at Gatwick airport after travelling from Gambia to England, the Daily Star reports.
The unknown victim who has been confirmed to be a black male was found in the section of the plane that sits below the main body and the wings of the aircraft. Sussex Police force said in a statement: "Police were called after the body of a man was found in the undercarriage of an aircraft at Gatwick Airport, arriving from Gambia, at about 4 am on 7 December.
"Officers are investigating and a report will be prepared for HM Coroner." Gambia's government spokesperson, Ebrima G. Sankareh, said in a statement on December 20 that officials had not uncovered any documentation that could help identify the victim.
He said: "According to the information, the deceased black male was found within the wheel bay of the aircraft without identification documents to establish his name, age, nationality, or travel itinerary." Sankareh also confirmed that an investigation had been opened following the incident and that the body had been taken to the morgue to run tests.
However, this isn't the first time a corpse has been found in the undercarriage of a plane this year. A little over a month before this incident, the body of a man in a Lufthansa jet that had arrived from Iran was discovered by staff at Frankfurt airport.
Police told CNN that the body was uncovered at around 5:30am on October 28 during routine maintenance checks. Officials also confirmed that an oxygen can and mask had been found next to the body.
A statement sent to the publication by Lufthansa said: "We can confirm that during the routine check of a Lufthansa Airbus A340-300 after landing in Frankfurt yesterday, a dead body was discovered in the aircraft’s landing gear bay. The responsible authorities are currently on site to investigate the background together with experts from the company.
"We ask for your understanding that we cannot provide any further information against the background of the ongoing investigation."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
