US plane impounded in Zimbabwe after corpse and cash are found on board
Zimbabwean aviation authorities have impounded a US-registered cargo jet, a senior official said, after a dead body later believed to be a stowaway and millions of South African rand were found on board.
The Herald, a state-run newspaper, reported on Monday that the MD-11 trijet was travelling from Germany to South Africa “with millions of rands”. At today’s exchange rate, 1 million rand is worth US$62,500.
READ MORE: Tragedy of African plane stowaway, who dreamed of life abroad but plunged to his doom over London
Authorities here learned the money belonged to the South Africa Reserve Bank, the country’s central bank.
The plane had landed in Harare for refuelling, said Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe general manager David Chawota. He said the jet, registered with Western Global Airlines, was impounded at Harare airport on Sunday.
A website says Western Global Airlines is based in Estero, Florida. The airline on Monday said the cargo belonged to the South African Reserve Bank and the dead body belonged presumably to a stowaway. Zimbabwe police said it was still investigating the matter.
WATCH: A stowaway’s view from the landing gear of a 747
The crew did not know there was someone else on the plane, according to a police officer, who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the press. It appears from photos on social media that the dead person had sneaked into the plane’s landing gear, which severed his arm when it contracted, causing blood to splatter onto the fuselage and arousing the suspicion of the ground crew when the flight landed here.