Nigerian stowaway found dead inside plane’s wheel arch

Police are investigating after the body of a man was found underneath a plane that had landed at Amsterdam airport from Nigeria.

The man, thought to be a stowaway from Nigeria, was discovered inside a wheel arch on Monday afternoon at Schiphol airport.

Dutch authorities have said they have launched an investigation into the man’s identity and the cause of death, according to local media.

It is likely that he died from hypothermia due to the extreme temperatures that the plane was flying at during the six hours 45 minutes journey from Lagos to the Netherlands.

It is not uncommon for migrants to try and reach Europe by hiding on planes, especially in the wheel arches.

A spokesperson for the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee said, “The man had holed up in the wheel arch of the plane. The low temperatures have presumably been fatal to him during the flight. If they survive the extremely dangerous journey they can then try and claim asylum.”

In similar cases, a boy, 16, from Kenya hid in the landing gear of a plane flying to Maastricht Aachen airport from London, in February this year.

He survived but has been hospitalised with severe hypothermia. It is thought he later applied for asylum status.

A mystery man fell from the sky in south London and his dead body was found in a Clapham garden. He had been hiding in the landing gear of a Kenya Airways flight to Heathrow.

According to the UN Refugee Agency guidelines, “Stowaway asylum-seekers must be protected against forcible return to their country of origin” as they are in a “particularly vulnerable situation in need of international protection and durable solutions.”

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