Afghan boy falls to his death from UK hotel window days after fleeing Taliban

Five-year-old's father worked for the British embassy in Kabul and the family had been evacuated to Britain

The hotel in South Yorkshire where the boy fell to his death. Courtesy: The OYO Sheffield Metropolitan Hotel

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An Afghan boy, aged 5, fell to his death from the ninth floor of a UK hotel, only days after he and his family arrived in the country having fled the Taliban.

The incident occurred at the OYO Sheffield Metropolitan on Wednesday, The Sun reported. The South Yorkshire hotel had been requisitioned for recently escaped Afghans and their families who worked with the British Army during the 20-year conflict.

It is believed that the boy's father, Omar Majeedi, had worked for the British embassy in Kabul and that the family had been relocated to Britain this month.

The Sun reported that the boy - named by guests as Mohammed - had fallen as he looked out of the window of his family's hotel room.

Police are not treating his death as suspicious but the hotel could well face legal action for health and safety reasons. On Wednesday night, inspectors examined hotel windows on the ninth floor and established that some left a gap easily big enough for a small child to climb through, it was reported.

The circumstances of the boy's demise left those who knew him bereft.

"There was a crowd and there was shouting. I saw out the window there was a child fallen down," a former British Army interpreter staying at the hotel told The Sun.

I just said goodbye to [Mohammed] at the airport. I hugged him. He was raised in front of me. I passed him every day as we lived one one street

Family friend

"I came downstairs. Some police officers came there. His mother was crying.

"The hotel colleagues were also present and they told me he had fallen down from the ninth floor.

"I explained that the lady didn't speak English and someone should translate for her. Then I went with them to the hospital.

"She explained to me that he was standing close to the window and he was watching downstairs."

A friend of the family in Kabul also expressed shock at the news.

"I just said goodbye to [Mohammed] at the airport. I hugged him. He was raised in front of me. I passed him every day as we lived on one street," he told The Sun.

"When I was at the airport saying goodbye to Majeedi, I just hugged his small kid. I remember he was doing childish acts.

"I can't understand how this happened. I am shocked."

Afghan youth footballer reportedly killed escaping Kabul in plane's landing gear

Mohammed's death is the latest in a string of tragedies resulting from the Afghan exodus, even though he had arrived at his destination safely.

A former Afghan national youth footballer was reportedly killed trying to escape Kabul in the landing gear of a US plane taking off from Kabul airport.

The remains of Zaki Anvari, believed to have been 19, were found when the plane landed, journalist Babak Taghvaee said.

Friends have praised the footballer in social media posts.

"Very sad to hear that one of the youths who tried to leave #Kabul through grabbing the landing gear bay of a #USAF's C-17A transport airplane few days ago was a player of #Afghanistan's National youth soccer team, Zaki Anvari," Taghvaee's post read.

“His body parts were found in the landing gear bay.”

Since the Afghan takeover of Afghanistan, Taghvaee, an aviation journalist who has written extensively on the Iranian air force, has been reporting regularly from Kabul airport.

The desperation of Afghans has been summed up by images of people trying to escape the country by clinging to the landing gear of planes.

Now it appears one of the country’s most promising footballers is among the victims.

He lived in Kabul, was a pupil at Esteghlal High School, and at 16 had become a player on the Afghan youth team, posts on social media reported.

One friend wrote: “We are from God and we return to him.

"Comrade, with whom I had the most unforgettable memories, his loss is a great sorrow for me and unspeakable,” another wrote.

The final post on Anvari’s Facebook read: "You're the painter of your life. Don't give the paint brush to anyone else."

Taliban and Nato officials repoted that twelve people have been killed in and around the airport in Kabul since the militant group seized the city on Sunday, triggering a rush of fearful civilians trying to leave.

The deaths were caused either by gunshots or in stampedes, a Taliban official said on Thursday, and he urged people forming crowds at the gates of the airport to go home if they did not have the legal right to travel.

The Taliban are allowing entry through their ring of steel around Kabul airport for those entitled to be on UK evacuation flights, Britain's Defence Minister Ben Wallace said.

But there are still challenges because checkpoints “are not letting everyone through”.

With large numbers of people still gathering at the airport, Mr Wallace said British soldiers were having to engage in “crowd control” of Afghans who have come with hopes of fleeing Kabul.

In pictures: arrivals from Afghanistan in Europe

British nationals and Afghan evacuees arrive on a flight from Afghanistan at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, England.

People reunite after a Lufthansa plane transporting evacuees from Kabul, Afghanistan, lands in Frankfurt, Germany.

An aircraft of Danish DAT airline that transported evacuees from Afghanistan arrives at Copenhagen Airport.

A passenger gives a thumbs up through the window of a plane that had arrived from Afghanistan at RAF Brize Norton air base in England.

People evacuated from Afghanistan pose in front of a German Bundeswehr airplane after arriving at the airport in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

People disembark from a Lufthansa aircraft arriving from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, that landed in Frankfurt, Germany. On board were about 130 people that were evacuated from Afghanistan.

People walk with their bags upon arrival at Frankfurt Airport, Germany, after being evacuated from Kabul.

People walk across the tarmac after alighting from a plane from Afghanistan at RAF Brize Norton air base in England.

People among the first evacuees from Kabul hug as they arrive at Frankfurt International Airport, Germany.

The second Czech evacuation aircraft from Kabul, with 87 passengers on board, stands at the Prague-Kbely airport, Czech Republic, after landing on Tuesday.

A family arrives at Frankfurt Airport, Germany.

People who have been evacuated from Afghanistan arrive at Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Paris, France.