A suspected stowaway reportedly died in the undercarriage compartment of an Arik Air aircraft Airbus A 345 Registration CS-TFX at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The corpse, whose identity was yet to be ascertained, had been deposited at an undisclosed mortuary following due diligence by the relevant aviation and security agencies.

Arik Air in a statement by its spokesman, Adebanji Ola, the airline said: “‘A stowaway was today discovered on an Arik Air plane at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

“Arik Air engineers were checking the aircraft in preparation for a flight when the body of the stowaway was discovered in the main wheel well of the aircraft.

“Investigations are still on to determine where the stowaway originated.

The aircraft has been fumigated by the Port Health authorities while the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) officials are carrying out their investigation.”

A statement by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, which also confirmed the incident, said FAAN was reviewing footage of the CCTV and airside security operations with a view to identifying the gaps and personnel failure, if any, in order to take remedial actions.