Stowaway who survived flight in front wheel section of Boeing 747 freight plane which flew from South Africa to Holland is identified as Kenyan man, 22, who plans to seek asylum
- A stowaway, 22, who survived perilous conditions is identified as a Kenyan man
- He plans to seek asylum in Holland and is currently receiving medical treatment
- The man was found in a plane which travelled from South Africa to Holland
- Dutch military police have said that it’s likely he boarded the plane from Kenya
A stowaway who remarkably survived a brutal journey on a plane traveling from South Africa to the Netherlands has been identified as a 22-year-old Kenyan man.
He is expected to apply for asylum in the Netherlands, and is currently receiving medical treatment at a hospital.
The man is conscious and able to communicate after yesterday being discovered squeezed into the wheel section under the fuselage of a Cargolux Boeing 747 freight plane at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.
A stowaway who was discovered squeezed into the wheel section under the fuselage of a Cargolux Boeing 747 freight plane has been identified (file photo used)
Robert Van Kapel, a spokesman for the Dutch military police, told MailOnline that the man is from Nairobi and it is likely that he boarded the plane from Kenya, where the plane had made a stop at.
He added the investigation is looking into possibilities of human trafficking and illegal border crossings and that police are in touch with contacts in Kenya.
Mr Van Kapel said: ‘At this moment we know his identity, we know that he asked for asylum in Holland, so now he has been handed over to the immigration service who will handle his asylum procedure.’
A Dutch military spokesperson also told the BBC: ‘His medical treatment is the priority at the moment.’
A flight from South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg, to Amsterdam is around 11 hours. The plane also made a stop in Nairobi, Kenya.
The journey from Nairobi to the Dutch capital takes around eight and a half hours by plane.
A spokeswoman for the Dutch police yesterday said it was ‘remarkable’ that the stowaway had survived the perilous conditions.
‘Our first concern of course was for his health,’ said Joanna Helmonds.
‘This is definitely very unusual that someone was able to survive the cold at such a height – very, very unusual.’
‘It is quite remarkable that he is still alive.’
According to Schiphol airport’s website, a Boeing 747 cruises at an altitude of just over 35,000ft and a speed of over 550mph.
The stowaway would have endured extremely hostile conditions, as the standard ambient temperature at 35,000ft is around -54C, with around 25 per cent less oxygen in the air than at sea level.
A flight from South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg, to Amsterdam is around 11 hours. The plane also made a stop in Nairobi, Kenya
These would typically result in hypoxia, frostbite, hypothermia and a host of other ailments.
People attempting to cling onto the undercarriages of planes also risk being crushed by the landing gear as it is retracted following take-off; or falling to their deaths when the landing gear is deployed.
Stowaways on flights to the Netherlands are rare, Helmonds had added, noting that previous attempts had involved would-be migrants from Nigeria and Kenya.
Last year, the body of a Nigerian man was found in the landing gear of a plane arriving at Schiphol airport.
In November, US border officials in Miami apprehended a 26-year-old man who had stowed away in the landing gear of a plane arriving from Guatemala.
Several people attempted to stowaway on US aircraft during the military withdrawal from Afghanistan last year, with many falling to their deaths as the planes took off from Kabul airport.
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