A suspected stowaway has been found dead in the landing gear bay of a plane at Heathrow airport.

The body of an unidentified man was found on board a British Airways flight that landed at Heathrow from Cape Town this morning.

British Airways said they were investigating how the “very rare and sad event” had taken place.

The Airports Company South Africa said that a person was seen scaling a fence at Cape Town International Airport last night. Security guards gave chase but lost the individual.

The man was found dead aboard a Boeing 747 in the area of the plane where the landing gear are stored after take-off.

A spokesman for British Airways said: “We are liaising with the South African authorities and Cape Town airport after a body was found in the landing gear bay of one of our aircraft.

They are investigating how this incident took place, which involved a Boeing 747 which arrived this morning from Cape Town.