Body found in search for British student Alana Cutland who fell from plane in Madagascar

Alana Cutland Credit: Foreign and Commonwealth Office/PA

A body has been found in the search for British teenager Alana Cutland who fell out of a plane in Madagascar.

According to news reports on Tuesday, a body was found in a remote area of the island.

Cambridge University student Alana Cutland, 19, [**fell from a light aircraft after carrying out research**](http://Tribute to ) in the remote area of Anjajavy on July 25, despite efforts from those on board to keep her inside.

Alana Cutland was in Madagascar to complement her studies. Credit: FCO

Madagascan police were investigating whether Ms Cutland, from Milton Keynes, had deliberately thrown herself to her death.

Ms Cutland’s uncle previously said she had become sick during her time in Madagascar, possibly due to prescription medication, with reports claiming police were investigating her possible use of an anti-malaria drug.

It has been reported that toxicology tests will be carried out on the body when it arrives at the British embassy.

The plane’s pilot said Ms Cutland, a natural sciences student, had a headache when she boarded and stayed silent during the flight.

Mahefa Tahina Rantoanina told The Sun he had “no idea” why Ms Cutland had opened a door of the tiny plane mid-flight and “jumped” out.

Police photographs which recreated Ms Cutland’s final moments appeared to show the pilot and the second passenger grasping hold of the victim’s leg as she hung out of the plane.

Ms Cutland eventually fell to her death after a struggle to free herself.

It was previously reported that Ms Cutland suffered “paranoia attacks” while on the research trip to the island, off the east coast of Africa.

Police said she was in regular contact with her parents and was making her way home via the island’s main airport.

She was in Madagascar to complement her studies in natural sciences, her family said.

In an earlier statement, her heartbroken family paid tribute to “a bright, independent young woman, who was loved and admired by all those that knew her”.

“Alana grasped every opportunity that was offered to her with enthusiasm and a sense of adventure, always seeking to extend her knowledge and experience in the best ways possible,” they said.