Dying boy is ‘left to lie on the floor at Heathrow for hours without any water, blanket, stretcher or wheelchair’


  • Polish charity has criticised Heathrow Airport over care of ‘dying boy’
  • The child, called Napu, was pictured lying on the floor under coats
  • The Gaius Foundation said he went without ‘water, blankets or a stretcher’ 
  • Heathrow is investigating incident and has apologised to Napu’s family 

Joseph Curtis For Mailonline

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A terminally ill boy is allegedly pictured here lying on the floor of Heathrow Airport covered by jackets and ‘without water, blankets, a stretcher or a wheelchair’

A dying boy was allegedly left to sleep on the floor of Heathrow Airport ‘without water, blankets, a stretcher or a wheelchair’.

Polish charity The Gaius Foundation, which helps terminally ill children and their families, hit out at the airport and posted pictures of a child, named as Napu.

Writing on Facebook, the charity said the boy, ‘could have died’ because of the stopover at the London airport.

It is unknown what terminal illness the child is suffering from, but the pictures show him connected to a tracheostomy tube which aids breathing.

A statement said: ‘Is this the fourth world? No… That is the Heathrow Airport. This is how employees of an international airport treated a dying child.

‘Despite months of scrupulous preparations they were not prepared for anything!

‘They put our dear Napu on the floor for many hours, they did not even have a blanket, not to mention a stretcher or a wheelchair. For three hours they did not give him any water!

‘There [sic] were not able to transport the child to the plane which has coused [sic] a delay for a WHOLE DAY!’

The statement added the charity would be taking legal action on behalf of Napu’s parents, and charity employees Dr Ma?gosia Stolarska and nurse Grzegorz Po?niak.

Heathrow has confirmed it is investigating the incident and has apologised to the boy’s family for his experience. 

It’s not yet known who exactly was responsible for the error, as the airline, the airport and Omniserv – which is contracted to transport disabled passengers within the airport – all have a role in the transportation process.

A spokesman said: ‘Heathrow is investigating Napu’s journey through the airport following information appearing on social media. 

Polish charity the Gaius Foundation criticised Heathrow and compared it to the ‘fourth world’ over the treatment of the child, known as Napu, pictured

The charity released a statement on Facebook, pictured, hitting out at the London airport

‘This is clearly a distressing time for Napu’s family, for which we are sorry. 

‘From our initial investigations, we understand Napu’s own wheelchair was not available once he left the aircraft and he was uncomfortable in the replacement wheelchair. 

‘On the advice of the medical staff travelling with him, he was temporarily laid down on the floor. Heathrow arranged for a paramedic to attend him. 

‘After a discussion with Napu’s relatives and medical staff he was transported to a local hotel by the London Ambulance Service before travelling out the next day.

‘We continue to work with all parties involved to find out all the detail of what happened and how his journey could have been made more comfortable.’ 

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