British police are investigating how two alleged stowaways reportedly flew to London after clinging to a passenger aircraft en route from Johannesburg.
One of the men reportedly died on Thursday after falling as the plane approached Heathrow Airport. The second man is currently being treated in a London hospital where his condition is described by medics as serious. Officials believe the two alleged stowaways managed to mount the undercarriage of a British Airways Boeing 747 as it took off from Johannesburg, then survived its 11-hour flight to London by hiding in the plane’s wheel recess. Having withstood temperatures as low as 50 degrees below freezing, it’s believed one of the men then tumbled from the aircraft as its landing gear was lowered on its approach to Heathrow. His body was found on the roof of a shop in Richmond, south-west London, and police have described his death as unexplained. The second man, believed to be between 25 and 30 years old, was discovered later, still on board the plane and was rushed to hospital. Efforts are continuing to confirm his identity.
