Body Of An African Child Found In Wheel-well Of US Military Aircraft After Landing In Germany

The body of a male adolescent African was found Sunday night in the wheel-well of a U.S. Air Force at the US Air Force Base in Ramstein-Germany after the plane had arrived from a flight that originated in Africa, a U.S. official confirmed.

The body was found trapped in a compartment above the aircraft's rear landing gear. The C-130 aircraft was on an eight-day journey, originating in Senegal stopping in Mali, Chad, Tunisia and Italy before arriving in Germany at Ramstein, according to the spokeswoman at Ramstein for the Airlift Wing.

According to the US Military officials, it's however unclear whether this child was a stowaway or where the child had boarded the plane. The boy's body was found as maintenance crews conducted a thorough post-flight check of long flights.

The Officials said "meantime the cause of death as well the other circumstances surrounding this incident remain under investigation but our thoughts and prayers go out to the young man's family."

When asked how a boy could have potentially sneaked onto the plane, the officials noted that security measure at various airfields are not uniform. "The aircraft is a rugged aircraft designed to operate in austere locations. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody that the security at some of these fields is not going to be at the same Level. We shouldn't expect that the security environment in every location that these aircraft operate in will be at the same high standard." They said.

Military Officials said, the U.S. Air Force will cooperate with the German authorities who will have to lead in the Investigation.