2 men found frozen in the belly of Colombian plane
An aircraft maintenance technician in Colombia made a shocking discovery. Under the belly of an Avianca plane at the airport in Bogota, the bodies of two young men were frozen to death. The airline technician was inspecting and performing regular maintenance on the aircraft of Colombia’s flagship airline when he was horrified by the corpses.
The bodies were found today, according to reports from Aljazeera. One of the corpses was burnt, while the other was in a frozen state and had partially dissolved. The plane had last travelled on January 6, but it is believed the men had stowed away and froze on a flight on January 3.
One of the bodies was found to be carrying Dominican currency and one of the suitcases contained a work permit from the Dominican Republic. It is suspected that the two frozen men had been hiding in the belly of the plane since January 3, as it was the plane’s last flight out of the Dominican Republic.
The Avianca plane had travelled more recently operated flight AV116 from Santiago Airport in the capital city of Chile to El Dorado Airport in Bogota, Colombia on the evening of Friday, January 6. It left Santiago at 4.26pm and arrived in Bogota at 7.56pm.
During a maintenance inspection following the flight, the two young people were found dead in the landing gear. Avianca activated its safety protocol and notified the authorities in both Colombia and Chile, who are now conducting an investigation into the case. The technical procedures are being handled by the Colombian Attorney General’s Office, which is collecting the bodies and transferring them to the morgue.
Avianca stated that it inspects the aircraft and its perimeter before each flight as part of its security processes. But lapses in airport security, control of restricted areas, and perimeter control that allowed the two young men who froze to get to the plane and stow away are the responsibility of the airport authorities and administrators.
The airline has expressed its willingness to collaborate with the airport and local authorities to clarify the case and take necessary measures to prevent similar events from occurring in the future.
Colombian authorities are currently investigating the case to determine for sure the nationality and identity of the two young men, who are believed to be between the ages of 15 and 20 and were likely attempting to smuggle themselves into the country. Avianca has expressed condolences to the families of the two young men who died.
