Heathrow stowaway who fell to death identified as Mozambican migrant



Orphanage in Mozambique describes Carlito Vale, who hid in plane’s wheel well
for the 8,000-mile flight from Johannesburg, as a man who 'lived for the day’

Six months after a body was found on a roof below the Heathrow flight path, he can now be identified as the person who officials believe fell from the undercarriage of a British Airways flight as it was about to land after its 10-hour journey.

The body of the deceased was discovered on the roof of a west London office building. It was not clear if he was killed in the fall; flight data reveals the plane would've been at an altitude of around 1,400ft (427m) when it passed over the area.

While Vale has yet to be officially named, authorities have made contact with an orphanage in Mozambique’s second city of Beira as part of efforts to confirm that he was the man who died. The Guardian was contacted by the orphanage, which does not wish to be named, because its founders wanted to trace those who had left flowers at the scene near Heathrow.

While Vale’s motivation for his desperate gamble of stowing away on the flight will perhaps remain unknown, his story is one that echoes that of millions of other migrants. At its core is the simple dream of a better life elsewhere.

Affected by poverty, Aids and the legacy of a 15-year-long civil war, Beira is a world away from the affluent streets of London. Male life expectancy around the Heathrow area is 78.9 years – 25 years more than the average in Mozambique.

Originally posted by RihRihRoman

Terrible that people have to go to these lenghts and risk their safety like this to improve their quality of life. I admire his determination

Originally posted by RihRihRoman

Terrible that people have to go to these lenghts and risk their safety like this to improve their quality of life. I admire his determination

Originally posted by RihRihRoman

Terrible that people have to go to these lenghts and risk their safety like this to improve their quality of life. I admire his determination

Originally posted by RihRihRoman

Terrible that people have to go to these lenghts and risk their safety like this to improve their quality of life. I admire his determination

Originally posted by @michael

So he made it all the way from South Africa to London before he fell? That sucks. He was so close!