The bodies of two people, who were found in the landing gear of a JetBlue plane at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on January 7, were identified as nationals from the Dominican Republic.
JetBlue said the deceased males, identified as Elvis Borquez Castillo and Jeik Anilus Lusi, were found during a “routine post-flight maintenance inspection,” NBC Miami reported. On Wednesday, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said that deputies had gone to the Dominican Republic to further investigate the incident and also have a meeting with the families of the deceased individuals.
The deceased stowaways’ mothers used their photographs to confirm their identities. Authorities also ruled their cause of death as asphyxiation or lack of oxygen. Authorities are, however, yet to establish how they managed to enter the plane.
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In a previous interview with the news outlet, Castillo’s mother, Ironelis Castillo, confirmed her son’s date of departure from the Dominican Republic as January 4. She said she was sure about the date because a neighborhood driver had informed her that he drove the teen to an airport, NBC Miami reported. She also said she had since been unable to establish any contact with her son.
The JetBlue plane in which the deceased individual’s bodies were found landed in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, on January 5, per FlightAware.
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In 2021, Face2Face Africa reported that a 16-year-old Kenyan stowaway was found alive after he reportedly hid in the landing gear of an aeroplane that flew from the East African nation’s capital of Nairobi to the Maastricht Aachen Airport in Holland.
The unidentified teenager survived the dangerous flight despite sub-zero temperatures and lack of oxygen. The boy, who was found falling from the compartment of the airplane on Thursday, was taken to a hospital and treated for hypothermia, CNN reported. Police, however, said he had made a full recovery.
Aviation experts say stowaways who attempt the dangerous and daring act of hiding in the landing gear of airplanes are more likely to die from hypothermia or lack of oxygen. Out of the 109 known global stowaway attempts, only 24 who hid in the plane’s landing gear managed to survive, Mail Online reported in January 2021.
