Officials in Zimbabwe impounded a U.S.-owned South Africa-bound plane Sunday (Feb. 14) after a dead body was found on board. The MD-11 Trijet was carrying millions in cash for the South African Reserve Bank and had stopped to refuel, the BBC reports.
Blood was seen dripping from the plane leading to a search of the aircraft, the crew was unaware of the body. The deceased is rumored to a be an adult stowaway who severed his arm hiding in the plane’s landing gear. “The jet crew was questioned and they said they hit a bird in the air. But then a search was made and the body of an adult male fell out,” a source said.
The money was in South African rand. A million rand is equivalent to $62,5000 in the U.S.
Florida-based Western Global Airlines owns the plane which traveled from Germany to Belgium and Nigeria, before it was seized. The body was taken to a pathologist.
“The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is aware of an aircraft carrying a SARB consignment that stopped in Harare [Airport] and was detained following the discovery of an unidentified body that is presumed to be a stowaway on the aircraft,” a SARB representative said in a statement.
The SARB is working with authorities to ensure that the money makes it to its final destination.
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Photo: screencap
