A stowaway was discovered on the front landing gear of a Cargolux Boeing 747F, this past Sunday morning (23/01). Surprisingly, the man was alive after the aircraft flew at high altitude between Johannesburg (South Africa) and Amsterdam.
The man was rescued by airport officials, who alerted the Dutch police. Authorities said the man was a young African man, and he was transferred to a local hospital.
"Our first concern, of course, was his health," said a spokesman for the Dutch police. "It's definitely very unusual that someone has managed to survive the cold at such a high height - very, very unusual."
Due to the adverse conditions for humans, even more so because it is a place on the plane where there is no pressurization and oxygen at high altitude, illegal travelers end up suffocating and freezing to death most of the time, or end up falling from the aircraft in mid-air. flight.
After the young African man recovers, local immigration authorities will have to deal with the case, said the local police spokesman.
“Once the man has recovered and been released from the hospital, he will be processed at the Asylum Seekers Center (AZC), where his status will be determined if he is indeed seeking asylum.”, spokeswoman for the Royal Dutch Military Police, Joanne Helmonds, told CNN.
It remains unclear whether the stowaway entered the front landing gear of the Cargolux Boeing 747 in Johannesburg, or during a stopover in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
