Carlito Vale (right), from Mozambique, is understood to have hidden away in the undercarriage of a British Airways jet from Johannesburg to London. Picture: Central News
WARNING: Graphic content
THE head of a stowaway who plunged thousands of metres to his death from the undercarriage of a British Airways jet was found in an office air-conditioning unit by shocked staff, an inquest heard.
Carlito Vale, 30, hit the roof of a building used by the online shopping company, Notonthehighstreet.com, in southwest London, when the plane was on its descent into Heathrow from Johannesburg, The Sun reports.
Flight data showed the plane was at an altitude of around 427 metres when it passed over the area where Vale’s body was found.
He was discovered when manager Michael Bentley was sent to investigate after complaints that the air conditioning system was down.
As he began to climb through the skylight he found the African’s dismembered head and other body parts strewn across the roof floor.
Carlito Vale. Picture: Central NewsSource:Supplied
Mr Bentley described the scene as “horrific”.
“I stopped as I could see matter on the floor,” he said.
“I moved closer and saw what I could only describe as a limb.
“I thought ‘I really hope that isn’t a body in there, it could only have come from a plane’.
“I looked then and saw a foot and a leg.”
“Then saw that it was a human face inside the unit,” he added.
“It appeared to me that there was no sign of life or possibility of survival.”
Mr Bentley was quick to send for help and emailed his line manager with the words: “I need to see you urgently. I think I have found something horrific on the roof, no jokes very serious.”
Cops attended the scene after Mr Bentley called police to take a look at the blood-soaked roof covered in severed body parts.
Detective Inspector Steve Lemon said: “The force of the impact is so great that the deceased body has completely smashed through the metal panels that cover the airconditioner.”
He continued: “It has decapitated the corpse and body parts had landed on nearby flat roofs.”
The young man fell from the undercarriage of the British Airways jet as it was making its descent into Heathrow Airport in London. Picture: Mark Harkin
It is believed that Vale boarded the plane in Johannesburg with another man who was found alive in the undercarriage.
A bag containing Vale’s Mozambique passport and an expired US visa was discovered in a secure area of Johannesburg airport.
South African authorities were then able to work alongside cops in Mozambique to compare the results of a DNA test between him and a possible daughter — which revealed a 99.9 per cent chance they were related.
The companion is in a critically ill condition but was able to further confirm Vale’s identity, West London Coroner’s Court heard.
A post-mortem concluded that Vale was a “well-nourished” man who died from multiple injuries.
“The conclusion I’m going to record in light of all the information I have received is one of accidental death,” the coroner said.
Vale is believed to have been born in 1986, and was among thousands of children taken in by the orphanage after civil war ravaged the southern African country.
This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.
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