The identity of a teenage stowaway found on railway tracks in London after he fell from a flight days before Christmas remains a mystery over two years later.
The boy is believed to have been aged between 15 and 18, with his body spotted on December 14, 2020 in Richmond upon Thames between Mortlake and North Sheen stations.
It was determined he had sustained injuries consistent with being hit by a train train and a fall from a height "such as an overflying aircraft".
An inquest at West London Coroners Court heard the British Transport Police and the National Crime Agency have made “sterling efforts” to find his family.
However, they have so far failed.
The BTP were alerted to a casualty on the line shortly after 10am and attended with paramedics but he was pronounced dead at the scene, reports MyLondon.
There was no documentation or form of identification on the body, no visible features such as tattoos or scars and he was missing his shoes and socks.
A post-mortem examination found no signs of natural diseases, with dental ageing suggesting he was in his late teenage years.
There was no evidence of a third party assault.
The forensic pathologist Dr Robert Charles Chapman stated: “In my opinion, it is probable he died prior to impact on the railway track.”
His cause of death was given as hypothermia and hypoxia at altitude, a common condition amongst individuals who stow themselves away on aircraft.
Detectives from the BTP launched an investigation and checked CCTV on the front and rear of trains, which showed the body being visible by the side of the tracks at 8.07am.
House-to-house enquiries were conducted and a media appeal issued, however no person was seen on CCTV walking from the platforms onto the railway tracks.
The teenager had been wearing a green polo shirt with the text reading ‘Sulid Supra Used High Quality Motorcycle Parts'.
This was traced to a motorbike shop in Nigeria, although the owners confirmed that they were unable to identify any missing employees.
Investigations revealed that a flight from Lagos had arrived in Heathrow six hours prior to the discovery of his body and at the point the wheels were released for landing, the aircraft would have been “extremely close” to the rail tracks in Richmond.
While CCTV from Lagos airport had been overwritten, an examination of the aircraft found boot marks in the wheel well.
A facial depiction of the teenager was released and circulated by the NCA through their international liaison office and the Nigerian High Commission and their Ministry of Affairs but sadly he remains unidentified.
Giving the cause of his death as misadventure, Acting Senior Coroner Lydia Brown said: “I’m very conscious that somewhere out there this young man has a family who are wondering about him. Sadly, the contact has not been made for me to share what i know about this young man.”
“He took steps to access this aircraft in a short period of time and lost his life during his endeavours to reach the UK,” she said.
“Whatever he was trying to achieve went disastrously wrong and ended with the loss of his life rather than any other opportunities.”
