newswatcher
14th Jun 2001, 16:42
From AP:
"A stowaway plunged to his death from a passenger jet as it came in to land at Heathrow Airport today.
Police believe the man, in his late twenties to early thirties, fell as the pilot lowered the plane's landing gear.
He was discovered at 7am in the Homebase car park in Manor Road, Richmond, by store staff. The Middle Eastern or Mediterranean victim suffered severe head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives say the victim, who was dressed in black jeans and black shirt, was discovered only feet from the road. Police are carrying out an examination of the scene and the store car park has been cordoned off.
Detectives are trying to determine which flight the man may have been on. The victim was not carrying any means of identification.
Police sources said a man had been seen by witnesses at Bahrain Airport running towards a plane as it was taxiing on the runway in preparation for take-off at midnight last night. It is unclear whether he was fleeing from Bahrain or elsewhere as the airport is a major stop-off point for flights.
A police source said of the dead man: "His injuries are such that he must have fallen from a plane. In a way it's fortunate he met his death in the car park because if he had hit the nearby road other people may have been injured.
"Staff coming to the store did not see a body in the car park at 6.45am but he was there by 7am. He was probably dead before he fell."
Residents are concerned at being situated under the Heathrow flightpath following at least one similar death. In October 1996 the body of an Asian man was found by a workman at a disused gasworks on the corner of Manor Road and the A316. The Homebase site lies six miles from one of the runways where the undercarriages are lowered for final approach. Planes are then doing about 180mph at an altitude of 2,000 feet.
Detective Chief Inspector Sue Hill said: "We are keeping an open mind and preparing a report for the coroner. At this stage it is being treated as suspicious. The staff member has gone home suffering from shock. We are currently liaising with airport authorities."
Desperate people are willing to risk their lives to seek asylum in Britain but rarely survive temperatures of -40C and most freeze to death. Last year two Cuban stowaways fell to their deaths near Gatwick. However, a 23-year-old from Delhi, survived a nine-hour flight to Heathrow on a BA jumbo jet. Stowaways are found almost weekly on vehicles and ships crossing the Channel in to Britain. "
"A stowaway plunged to his death from a passenger jet as it came in to land at Heathrow Airport today.
Police believe the man, in his late twenties to early thirties, fell as the pilot lowered the plane's landing gear.
He was discovered at 7am in the Homebase car park in Manor Road, Richmond, by store staff. The Middle Eastern or Mediterranean victim suffered severe head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives say the victim, who was dressed in black jeans and black shirt, was discovered only feet from the road. Police are carrying out an examination of the scene and the store car park has been cordoned off.
Detectives are trying to determine which flight the man may have been on. The victim was not carrying any means of identification.
Police sources said a man had been seen by witnesses at Bahrain Airport running towards a plane as it was taxiing on the runway in preparation for take-off at midnight last night. It is unclear whether he was fleeing from Bahrain or elsewhere as the airport is a major stop-off point for flights.
A police source said of the dead man: "His injuries are such that he must have fallen from a plane. In a way it's fortunate he met his death in the car park because if he had hit the nearby road other people may have been injured.
"Staff coming to the store did not see a body in the car park at 6.45am but he was there by 7am. He was probably dead before he fell."
Residents are concerned at being situated under the Heathrow flightpath following at least one similar death. In October 1996 the body of an Asian man was found by a workman at a disused gasworks on the corner of Manor Road and the A316. The Homebase site lies six miles from one of the runways where the undercarriages are lowered for final approach. Planes are then doing about 180mph at an altitude of 2,000 feet.
Detective Chief Inspector Sue Hill said: "We are keeping an open mind and preparing a report for the coroner. At this stage it is being treated as suspicious. The staff member has gone home suffering from shock. We are currently liaising with airport authorities."
Desperate people are willing to risk their lives to seek asylum in Britain but rarely survive temperatures of -40C and most freeze to death. Last year two Cuban stowaways fell to their deaths near Gatwick. However, a 23-year-old from Delhi, survived a nine-hour flight to Heathrow on a BA jumbo jet. Stowaways are found almost weekly on vehicles and ships crossing the Channel in to Britain. "