A British Airways pilot was reportedly kidnapped and tortured by a gang of men for money while on a stopover for work in South Africa.
The incident took place outside a supermarket in Johannesburg when a woman asked the pilot for help carrying bags to her car.
But, according to reports, when he got to the vehicle, he was bundled inside by a group of men.
He was driven to a remote area of the city where he was “badly roughed up”, reported The Sun newspaper, and he eventually handed over thousands of pounds.
The first officer was deemed unfit to fly the plane back to London after the ordeal, and the airline reportedly had to find a replacement pilot.
A source described the incident to the paper as "like something out of the movies," saying: “It only ended when he was left penniless. He is just happy to be alive.
“The incident has shaken crew.”
A BA spokesperson told media outlets: “A crew member was abducted outside Checkers Bluebird supermarket just north of the Melrose Arch complex.”
The airline bans staff from certain areas of the city, but the crew hotel in the Melrose Arch area of the city is meant to be among its safest areas.
The pilot is now off work.
When asked for a comment, a BA spokesperson said: “We are supporting our colleague and the local authorities with their investigation.”
In a separate incident last July, a British Airways captain was held at gunpoint, robbed and then stabbed in the leg after going for a jog with a colleague in the city.
The Foreign Office advises that there is a "high crime rate" in South Africa, saying this includes "carjacking, ‘smash and grab’ attacks on vehicles house robbery, rape, sexual assault and murder."
