A man's body has been found in the undercarriage of a plane that flew into Gatwick Airport from Gambia on December 7.
Sussex Police said in a statement: "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."
The unidentified body was found on a TUI airline at Gatwick after flying in from Banjul, Gambia, a Gambian government spokesperson confirmed.
Gambia's government spokesman, Ebrima Sankareh, said: "According to the information, the deceased black male was found within the wheel bay of the aircraft without identification documents to establish his name, age, nationality or travel itinerary.
"It is, therefore, not clear at this stage, who he is."
It's not the first time stowaways have been found on planes or ships arriving into Europe.
In 2015, Dutch authorities discovered a body in the landing gear of a plane from Africa in Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.
In November, three stowaways were found on a ship's rudder in the Canary Islands after an 11-day ocean voyage from Nigeria.
"This unfortunate incident, while rare, indicates how desperate some people are to the point of taking such a risky way to migrate," said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Moroccan-based organization focused on economics and policy.
"This will not deter some West Africans from taking risky attempts to reach Europe, and unfortunately we will continue to see people die in the Mediterranean and the Sahel desert," he said.
