The body of a child aged around 10 years has been found in the undercarriage of a plane that had arrived in Paris from Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.

The French carrier confirmed in a tweet that "the lifeless body of a stowaway was discovered in the well of the landing gear of the aircraft performing flight AF703 connecting Abidjan (ABJ) to Paris-Charles de Gaulle on January 7."

"The company expresses its compassion and deplores this human drama. An investigation is underway." it added.

The Air France Boeing 777 had departed from Abidjan on Tuesday evening.

The incident has prompted questions regarding the state of security in Cote d'Ivoire's main airport.

An Ivorian security source told the AFP news agency: "Aside from the human drama, this shows a major failing of security at Abidjan airport."

In July last year, the body of a Kenyan man fell from a Kenya Airways flight as it prepared to land at London's Heathrow Airport.

Source(s): Air France, BBC