A suspected stowaway was found frozen to death in the undercarriage of a British Airways passenger jet at Heathrow airport, after the plane landed from Istanbul.
The man, identified only as Turkish and in his mid-30s, is believed to have frozen in temperatures around -60°C.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and located the body of a male who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The unidentified man was found on a British Airways plane
“At this stage, officers believe the deceased is a Turkish national aged in his 30s. Attempts are now being made to confirm his identity and inform next of kin.”
British Airways told the Evening Standard that it was liaising with the authorities at Istanbul over security on the ground at the airport.
“We are liaising with the Metropolitan Police after a body was found in the landing gear bay of one of our aircraft at Heathrow.
“They are investigating how this incident took place, which involved an Airbus A320 that arrived into Terminal 5 from Istanbul.
“This is a very sad event and our thoughts are with the individual's family.”
Migrants Rights Network's director Don Flynn told HuffPost UK: 'The tragic incidents occur periodically and they demonstrate the lengths some people will go to for the hope of a better life.
"As long as the developed world shuts its doors so firmly against people who need to cross frontiers to obtain decent work then we have to expect that they will happen again."
Concerns were raised just months ago about the deaths of stowaways attempting to reach Britain. In September 2012, Angolan national Jose Matada, 26, died after falling 2,500 feet when the plane lowered its undercarriage.
His body was found on a suburban street in Mortlake, south west London.