A suspected Nigerian stowaway has been found dead in a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight as Nigerian authorities promised an investigation into the incident.
The airline yesterday announced the discovery of the deceased in the wheel well of its Boeing 777 (registered PH-BQM) in the early hours of Monday.
The airline in a statement said, “This morning, a deceased stowaway was discovered in the wheel well of a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 777 (registered PH-BQM).
“The aircraft originated from Lagos, Nigeria. It’s currently unknown how and when the man was able to climb into the aircraft; an investigation has been launched.
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The extra passenger is believed to have died from hypothermia (a significant and potentially dangerous drop in body temperature). Occasionally, stowaways are discovered in wheel wells of aircraft.
“Sometimes they survive, but most of the time it goes wrong given the sharp drop in temperature. On longer flights, temperatures can go down to minus fifty degrees, impossible to survive,” a spokesperson of the Royal Dutch Marechaussee explained.
Our correspondent reports that the incident of stowaways is not new on both foreign and domestic flights.
Speaking with Daily Trust yesterday, the Regional Manager of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Mamman Mohammed, said the authority was still awaiting an official report from the airline.
“We cannot ascertain whether the stowaway is a Nigerian or not until we have an official report from the airline,” he said.
