'No immediate basis' on identity of people found dead on JetBlue flight - Johnson Smith

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, says "there is no immediate basis" to say that the two people found dead on JetBlue flight were Jamaicans.

She says the Government is still working to get further information to be able to provide clarity on the matter.

The bodies were discovered in the wheel well area during a routine post-flight inspection on Monday night at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the airline said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The aircraft had arrived in Fort Lauderdale shortly after 11 p.m. from John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.

In a statement on social media platform X on Tuesday afternoon, Johnson Smith said, "While there is speculation regarding the nationalities of the persons found, our information to date is that this matter still remains unclear and there is no immediate basis on which to conclude that they are Jamaicans."

"We, therefore, remain in contact with the relevant authorities and will update the public as soon as greater clarity and accuracy has been brought to bear on this tragic matter," she stated.

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