A 17-year-old stowaway found dead in the wheel well of a British Airways (BA) plane in Los Angeles is a South African citizen, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.
”We have now confirmed that the stowaway who was found in possession of South African documentation was indeed a South African citizen,” said spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.
Associated Press reported that a pilot found the body of the 17-year-old in the front right wheel well of the 747-400 during a routine inspection on Sunday afternoon.
Mamoepa said the stowaway’s identification on Tuesday followed consultations between South Africa’s diplomatic mission and British authorities in London.
”We are currently in a process of locating his next of kin, who have yet to be informed of his death,” said Mamoepa.
The British Airways flight had arrived from London Heathrow Airport on Sunday. Before that, it had made trips to Hong Kong, Singapore, Cape Town and Vancouver, the report said.
The aircraft had been in Cape Town on January 22.
The stowaway was identified as a black male carrying South African identification. There were no traumatic wounds on the body, indicating that the young man’s death had not been caused by the impact of the plane’s wheels retracting.
Stowaways often die as the wheel well is not pressurised or heated despite being enclosed.
”Government would like to extend its condolences to the family,” said Mamoepa. — Sapa