Stowaway Falls from Airplane

(Niamey, Niger)

The body of a suspected stowaway fell from an Air France plane over Niger on Thursday and was discovered lifeless in a western suburb of the capital, Niamey, officials said.

A resident of the suburb was standing just a few meters from where the body fell at around 5 a.m. on Thursday, said Niger Interior Minister Abdou Labo.

“The police discovered the lifeless body of a black person lying in blood,” Labo said, adding that blood had also been spotted on the left wing of the plane.

Initial information indicated the body was that of a stowaway who fell from the landing gear, said an Air France spokesman, Christophe Paumier, in Paris.

The flight originated in Burkina Faso.