A stowaway has plunged to his death from a plane and landed on a business in a busy high street – while another is fighting for his life in hospital, UK police said yesterday.
The two men are believed to have clung on to a British Airways plane as it flew more than 12,875 kilometres from Johannesburg in South Africa to Heathrow.
The victim fell on to the roof of the business NotOnTheHighStreet.com in Kew Road, Richmond, southwest London, on Thursday morning. Police and ambulance crews found the man dead at the scene at around 9.30am.
It is understood the second man, believed to be 24 years old, was found unconscious in the undercarriage of the plane at Heathrow around an hour earlier. He was taken to a west London hospital where police yesterday said he was still 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.
Hady Khoshkbary, who runs a printing shop next door, said he spotted police cars and ambulances outside yesterday morning and went out to discover what had happened.
He said: “We were very lucky that the body did not drop on the road, it dropped on the building.
Most stowaways are killed by cold and lack of oxygen at high altitudes
“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 the death and 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. 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 was in a serious condition, but police said this has now deteriorated and he is “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.”
NotOnTheHighStreet.com said in a statement: “The death is currently being treated as unexplained but early indications are that the body may be that of an airline stowaway.”
There have been other cases when stowaways have plunged to their deaths in the leafy streets of west London after smuggling themselves on to planes.
They hide themselves in the landing gear where they are exposed to the elements and have to endure plummeting temperatures. Most are killed by the cold and lack of oxygen at high altitudes.