Panic as Stacks of Cash and a Dead Body are Found Inside Cargo Plane While Refueling at Airport

Local newspaper reports said that the body was 'suspended' in the plane

A cargo plane has been grounded after a dead body was discovered inside alongside a lot of cash stashed inside it.

The cargo plane carrying millions of South African rand has been grounded at Zimbabwe international airport after ground staff spotted blood dripping from it and discovered a man’s body.

The plane, owned by Florida-based Western Global Airlines, is understood to have been transporting large sums of cash from Munich in Germany via Belgium and Nigeria and was bound for the seaside town of Durban in South Africa when it stopped in Harare for refuelling.

“The jet crew was questioned and they said they hit a bird in the air. But then a search was made and the body of an adult male fell out,” a source told African News Agency.

A spokesman for the South African Reserve Bank suggested the body belonged to a “stowaway” and expressed the hope its money would be released soon.

Local reports said four crew members had been arrested: two Americans, a Pakistani and a South African. An airport source told The Telegraph that two couriers had remained on the plane since the discovery on Sunday, reluctant to leave its valuable cargo.

The plane is believed to have requested a “technical landing” in Harare after being denied the right to land in Mozambique.