Serious Condition of Stowaway Discovered on Plane in France

French authorities have reported that a man has been admitted to intensive care after being discovered in the undercarriage of a plane that flew from Algeria to France. The individual was found in the landing gear compartment by airport staff upon the plane's arrival at Paris's Orly airport, following a two-and-a-half-hour journey from Oran. Severe hypothermia was evident when he was located, according to an airport source cited by AFP news agency. As he did not have any identification on him, his precise age remains unknown; however, some reports suggest he could be between 20 and 30 years old, while others indicate he may be as young as 15. The man was subsequently transferred to Henri-Mondor hospital in Créteil, as confirmed by the local prosecutor's office. Notably, there are significant dangers associated with attempting to travel within the landing gear compartment of an aircraft, such as the risk of extreme cold with temperatures dropping as low as -63°C (-81°F) during flight, leading to hypothermia. Additionally, oxygen deprivation poses a lethal threat. This incident follows another case in 2019 where a suspected stowaway was found deceased on a London house roof after falling from the landing gear of a plane traveling to Heathrow Airport from Kenya. In a separate incident in 2022, another stowaway was discovered alive in the wheel area of an aircraft that had arrived at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport from South Africa.