According to CNN, on the morning of January 23, local time, Dutch agencies found a stowaway in the landing gear compartment of a freighter.
Foreign media report with picture (data map)
Schiphol airport spokesmans and police said the plane took off from Johannesburg, South Africa, and landed at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands. This means that the man has been hiding on the plane for at least 11 hours. Officials said the man was between the ages of 16 and 35, but his identity had not been confirmed.
According to reports, on the morning of the 23rd, the airport ground staff first found the stowaway on the cargo plane that had just landed at the airport, and immediately notified the relevant agencies. Joanne Helmonds, a spokesman for the Royal Netherlands Gendarmerie, said they were informed to arrive at the scene and found the man alive but with a low body temperature. The spokesman said: "We were very surprised when we found this man, who flew more than 10,000 kilometers in the very, very cold temperature in the landing gear cabin of the aircraft and was still alive. ”
Hermunds said the man had been taken to a hospital in Amsterdam. "The man will be taken to an asylum centre after recovery," she said. If he wishes to seek asylum in the Netherlands, we will confirm his identity. ”
Direct flights between Johannesburg and Amsterdam take about 11 hours, with flights also stopping in Kenya. As to how the stowaway hid in the cargo plane's front landing gear compartment, Cargolux, the Luxembourg cargo airline that currently owns the cargo plane, declined to comment until the investigation was completed. (Editor: HHJ)