Operations back to normal at JKIA after body is discovered on runway

Nairobi, Kenya:  Operations are back to normal at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after the main runway was closed for 40 minutes early Wednesday morning, according to a statement released by Kenya Airports Authority.

Security officials temporarily closed the runway after a human body was sighted on the edge of the runway at around 6am.

Police say they are yet to know how the male body got on the runway but added that they suspected it was that of a stowaway who had hidden in the wheel compartment of an airplane.

Officials say they were called at about 6 am and informed the body was at the end of the main runway and on checking they realised it had bruises. Airport CID boss Joseph Ngisa confirmed that the body had bruises at the time of discovery.

“We do not know if it was of a stowaway or someone who came to the runway on his own,” said Ngisa.

He added that the body had no identification documents.

The runway was closed as police rushed to remove the body. They took fingerprints from the body to establish the deceased's identity.

According to the statement released KAA, Kenya Airports Police Unit have since commenced investigations into this incident.

Last November, there was a similar incident in which a male passenger, believed to have secretly boarded a Kenya Airways flight from Bombay to Nairobi, was found dead when the plane arrived at the airport.

Officials at the airport said the flight, KQ203, left Bombay and as they were opening the rear part of the plane the body fell out. The man did not have any identification documents on him as well when they checked the body.

The body was found in between the wheels compartment as crew were cleaning the plane.