Airplane stowaway plunges to his death
The two men clung onto a British Airways plane as it flew 12,875km from Johannesburg, in South Africa, to Heathrow. The victim fell onto the roof of the business, NotOnTheHighStreet.com, in Kew Rd, Richmond, south west London, on Thursday.
Police and ambulance crews found the man dead at 9.30am. The second man, believed to be 24 years old, had been found unconscious in the undercarriage of the plane at Heathrow an hour earlier.
He was taken to a west London hospital and is in a critical condition. Reverend Neil Summers, from the St John the Divine of Richmond church, opposite where the body was found, said he was “shocked” and would lead prayers for the dead man.
He said: “It’s shocking. You do not expect these things to happen on your patch, really. In one sense, it’s not totally surprising, as it’s happened before. It’s very shocking when it’s so close to you.”
Hady Khoshkbary, who runs a printing shop next door, saw police cars and ambulances outside. He said: “We were very lucky that the body did not drop on the road. It dropped on the building. We were very, very lucky that we did not see the body. Already this is a tragedy, but that would have been horrific to see this incident.”
The Metropolitan Police said officers are investigating whether the dead man is a stowaway. They said: “The body is so far unidentified and inquiries are ongoing into this, and how long it had been at the scene. No next of kin have yet been informed.
“At this time, there is no evidence to link the death to the discovery of a stowaway in the undercarriage of a plane at Heathrow Airport; however, this is one line of inquiry into identifying the deceased and the circumstances of his death. The death is currently being treated as unexplained. A post-mortem examination will be held in due course.”
The second man was rushed to hospital, where he deteriorated to critical.
Heathrow officers believe they know the man’s identity, but are waiting for confirmation before releasing any details of his nationality.
A British Airways spokeswoman said: “We are working with the Metropolitan Police, and the authorities in Johannesburg, to establish the facts surrounding this very rare case.”
Stowaways have previously plunged to their deaths in the leafy streets of west London. They hide in the landing gear, where they are exposed to the elements and plummeting temperatures. Most are killed by the cold and lack of oxygen at high altitudes.
