Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives traveled to the Dominican Republic to meet with law enforcement authorities and “possible family members” of two people found dead inside the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue plane that earlier this month landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
“At this time, detectives are continuing to gather evidence and information and work closely with the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office to positively identify the individuals,” said the BSO Public Information Office said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
BSO officials say their investigation of the two deaths remains “active and ongoing,” but released no other details.
The bodies were discovered in the wheel well area during a routine post-flight inspection on Jan. 6 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, according to JetBlue officials, who said the aircraft had arrived in Fort Lauderdale shortly after 11 p.m. from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Paramedics declared both people dead at the scene.
Though its most recent flight was from New York to Fort Lauderdale, the jet had earlier that day been in both Kingston, Jamaica, and Salt Lake City, Utah, according to the flight tracking service FlightAware.com.
The incident cast a spotlight on the growing concerns about security within the nation’s aviation system.
In late December, a body was found in the wheel well of a United Airlines plane after it landed in Maui from Chicago.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
READ MORE: 'Heartbreaking situation': Bodies found in the landing gear of JetBlue plane in Fort Lauderdale
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