death: Body found in search for Cambridge University student, 19, who fell from plane in Madagascar

 Alana Cutland, who died while on an internship in Madagascar ( PA )

A body has been found in the search for Cambridge University student Alana Cutland who fell to her death from a plane in Madagascar.

Local police said the 19-year-old’s body was discovered in a rural area of the African island on Tuesday.

A passenger on the plane told how Ms Cutland forced open the door of the aircraft before plunging to the ground. 

Ms Cutland, from Milton Keynes, was reported to have been flying back from a research trip studying a rare species of crabs.

She has been remembered by her family as a "bright, independent young woman" with a "thirst for discovering more of the world".

Local police chief Sinola Nomenjahary said Ms Cutland's body had been found.

He told The Sun newspaper: "They have found a human body north of the site where she fell."

Cambridge University student Alana Cutland (PA)

He said the body would be flown back to the Madagascan capital Antananarivo and that the British embassy had been informed.

It was reported the discovery was made by local villagers who had been searching for her since she plunged 1,130 metres.

Family members said the second-year student "grasped every opportunity that was offered to her with enthusiasm and a sense of adventure" and was in Madagascar to complement her studies in natural sciences.

In a statement released through the Foreign Office, her family paid tribute saying: "Our daughter Alana was a bright, independent young woman, who was loved and admired by all those that knew her.

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