A stowaway discovered alive in the wheel enclosure of a Cargo plane that arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport from South Africa last weekend has been identified as a 22-year-old Kenyan.

Royal Dutch Military Police spokeswoman Joanna Helmonds said the man was taken to hospital in a stable condition, he has since claimed asylum.

“This is definitely very unusual that someone was able to survive the cold at such a height, very, very unusual,” she said.

it is now obvious that the young man climbed aboard the plane in Nairobi when it had a stop over before flying to Schiphol airport in Amsterdam.

Operators of the aircraft, Cargolux Italia confirmed the incident but declined to make further comment until the authorities and the airline have completed their investigation.

The 11-hours journey included a stopover in Nairobi, Kenya.

Stowaways face a considerable risk of death during all phases of flight, some have fallen during take-off or landing, while others face hypothermia and hypoxia at the extremely low temperatures and low atmospheric pressure of high altitudes.