Dead man found in wheel of jet flown from Gambia to England

A dead man found in the wheel bay of a plane flew from Gambia to the UK, officials from the African country have said.

Ebrima G. Sankareh, Gambia’s government spokesman, said in a statement Tuesday that the unidentified body of a black male was found on a jet operated by TUI that travelled from Gambia’s capital of Banjul to Gatwick airport.He said the flight was on December 5 and Gambia’s government received information about the incident this week from England’s Sussex Metropolitan Police.

Gambia's government said a deceased black male was found within the wheel bay of the aircraft without identification documents to establish his name, age nationality or travel itinerary.Sussex Police said the discovery was made at Gatwick Airport at around 4am on December 7.

A Gatwick spokesperson said: “This is terribly sad news and our thoughts go out to the family and friends of the deceased.”Police are investigation what happened and will prepare a report for the coroner.

Tui said it would not comment as the incident was a police matter.

A statement from Sussex Police said: “Police were called after the body of a man was found in the undercarriage of an aircraft at Gatwick Airport, arriving from Gambia, at about 4am on December 7.“Officers are investigating and a report will be prepared for HM Coroner.”