A stowaway on a TUI plane froze to death wearing just thin jogging bottoms and sandals.
The man was found in the undercarriage of a TUI plane at Gatwick Airport – but his identity is still unknown.
The discovery was made at the London airport on December 7, 2022, after the flight from the Gambian capital of Banjul, an inquest heard reports The Sun.
He had frozen to death, was unable to be moved from the right hand wheel well and was pronounced dead at the London airport, with a post mortem confirming he died from hypothermia. Temperatures in a hold on a onboard a long haul flight can drop to as little as -60C.
Checks had taken place before the plane took off but nothing “out of the ordinary” was discovered – however, the inquest was told the conditions were dark.
Sussex Police issued an E-fit of the man to try and identify him – but their efforts failed. Joanne Andrews, area coroner for West Sussex, Brighton and Hove, reached a narrative conclusion.
She said: “It’s sad he’s not been able to be identified and his family advised. There is no evidence how he came to be on the plane, but he sadly died of hypothermia.”
The inquest was closed but the coroner said it could be re-opened if more information was made available. In a separate case, Last year Police were attempting to find the family of a teenage boy who was found dead after falling from a plane.
The boy’s body was found on railway tracks in Richmond upon Thames in December 2020 after he fell from a flight to Heathrow. But despite the tragic incident happening more than two years ago, he has still not been identified.
The young victim was found in between Mortlake and North Sheen stations, believed to be aged between 15 and 18. He was found with major injuries to his head, neck, chest and torso.
But authorities were left desperately trying to find out his identity and get in touch with his family. An inquest at West London Coroners Court heard that this was despite “sterling efforts” from both the British Transport Police and the National Crime Agency.
