His body, believed to be between the ages of 15 and 18, was discovered by a member of the public on December 14, 2020, between Mortlake and North Sheen stations.
He experienced “major injuries” to his head, neck, chest and torso from “contact with a moving train and a fall from height such as an overflying aircraft.” According to an inquest held at West London Coroners Court, despite “sterling efforts” by both the British Transport Police and the National Crime Agency, they were unable to contact the boy’s relatives.
The BTP were called to a casualty on the line just after 10 a.m., and he was pronounced deceased at the scene. There was no identification or documentation on his body, no apparent markings such as tattoos or scars, and he was missing his shoes and socks.
A post-mortem examination revealed no evidence of natural diseases, with tooth ageing indicating he was in his late adolescence. There was no evidence of a third-party assault, according to forensic pathologist Dr. Robert Charles Chapman, who stated, “In my opinion, he died prior to impact on the railway track.
His cause of death was listed as hypothermia and hypoxia at altitude, which is a typical illness among those who stow away aboard aeroplanes. The BTP initiated an inquiry and checked CCTV on the front and back of trains, which revealed the body by the side of the tracks around 8.07 a.m.
Despite house-to-house inquiries and a media appeal, no one was seen on CCTV walking from the platforms onto the railway tracks. The adolescent, on the other hand, was wearing a green polo shirt with the slogan ‘Sulid Supra Used High Quality Motorcycle Parts.
This was tracked to a motorbike business in Nigeria, while the proprietors stated that no missing staff had been identified. Investigations indicated that a flight from Lagos had arrived in Heathrow six hours before his body was discovered, and the aircraft would have been “extremely close” to the rail tracks in Richmond at the time the wheels were released for landing.
While CCTV footage from Lagos airport had been erased, an investigation of the aircraft revealed boot impressions in the wheel well. The NCA released and shared a face depiction of the youth through their foreign liaison office, the Nigerian High Commission, and their Ministry of Affairs, but he remains unidentified.
Acting Senior Coroner Lydia Brown, who gave the cause of death as misadventure, said: “I’m very conscious that somewhere out there this young man has a family who are wondering about him.” Unfortunately, no communication has been established for me to communicate what I know about this young man.
He took quick steps to gain access to this aircraft and lost his life while attempting to reach the UK,” she claimed. “Whatever he was attempting to accomplish failed miserably and resulted in the loss of his life rather than any other opportunities.”
