Stowaway found alive on cargo plane from Johannesburg

On a cargo flight from South Africa, a stowaway was found alive at Schiphol on Sunday morning, the Marechaussee reported.

The stowaway was said to be doing well, considering the circumstances. Ambulance, firefighters and the Marechaussee rushed to the scene to attend to the man. "First, it is important that the man recovers the case is transferred to the immigration authorities," a spokesperson of the Marechaussee told NH Nieuws. The lack of oxygen at high altitude and the cold temperatures experienced during a flight while hidden at the landing gear makes it rare for stowaways to survive.

The spokesperson said that it was not clear if the stowaway got on the Cargolux-Boeing 747 in Johannesburg or during a stop in the Kenyan capital city of Nairobi.

In 2021, the body of a stowaway was discovered in a KLM aircraft from Lago, Nigeria. Earlier that year, a 16-year-old stowaway was found in a wheel arch of an airplane from London at the Maastricht airport. The boy hid in the landing gear of an aircraft. He survived sub-zero temperatures on an hour-long flight and was admitted to hospital with severe hypothermia symptoms.

Op Schiphol is in het neuswiel van een vrachtvliegtuig uit Z-Afrika een verstekeling aangetroffen. De man maakt het naar omstandigheden goed en is vervoerd naar het ziekenhuis. De Marechaussee doet onderzoek. #KMar_PenB_SPL pic.twitter.com/A7DXGmIbpf

— Koninklijke Marechaussee (@Marechaussee) January 23, 2022