A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy who fell to his death from a hotel window was an Afghan refugee who arrived in the UK with his family just days ago after fleeing the Taliban.
The little boy is believed to have died after plunging from the ninth floor of the OYO Sheffield Metropolitan Hotel, South Yorkshire, yesterday around 2.30pm.
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Police said a boy died after falling from a window at the OYO Sheffield Metropolitan Hotel on Blonk Street. Credit: Mark Lister 3
Cops were scrambled to the hotel in the city centre around 2.30pm Credit: Ben Lack
The hotel is being used to house hero Afghans and their families who worked alongside the British Army and authorities, but escaped to the UK as the Taliban swept across their country.
The little boy - named by guests and family friends as Mohammed - and his parents are said to have been evacuated to Britain earlier this month.
His dad had worked at the British Embassy in Kabul before the family were relocated to the UK.
It's feared the little boy fell as he looked out of the window of the family's hotel room.
HOTEL HORROR
Last night, inspectors could be seen opening hotel windows, revealing some left a gap of one and a half foot, which a child could easily climb though.
Police are not treating the boy's death as suspicious.
One hotel resident who served as an interpreter with the British Army in Afghanistan for two years, arrived in the UK with his family on July 27.
The 32-year-old told Sun Online: "It happened at around 2pm and he fell from the ninth floor at the back of the hotel.
“He can’t have been in England very many weeks. We spent two weeks in quarantine in Manchester and moved into this hotel five days ago.”
He can’t have been in England very many weeks
Former British Army interpreter staying at the hotel
Another former British Army interpreter, 35, accompanied the boy's distraught mum and dad to hospital.
He told Sun Online: "There was a crowd and there was shouting. I saw out the window there was a child fallen down.
"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.
'SHOCKED'
"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."
The boy's dad, Omar Majeedi, a senior humanitarian worker, had worked for the British Embassy in Kabul until they fled to England recently.
He had worked in the role as a projects manager handling Afghan migrants returning to the country since December, 2020.
A friend and ex-colleague of Mr Majeedi said he was "shocked" to hear of the little boy's death.
Speaking from Kabul, the 39-year-old told Sun Online: "He [Mr Majeedi] worked with the British Embassy in Kabul.
"That is why the embassy relocated himself and his family due to the situation in Afghanistan.
"I just said goodbye to [the little boy] at the airport. I hugged him, He was raised in front of me. I passed him every day as we lived one one street.
"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."
TRAGIC FALL
Sun Online has contacted the hotel for comment.
Police vehicles remained at the scene last night, with security guards in hi-viz jackets turning people away at the main entrance to the 111-bedroom hotel.
Inspectors could be seen testing hotel windows, with video footage showing one opening wide enough for a child to slip through.
The neighbouring NCP car park was sealed off by police following
the tragedy at the hotel on Blonk Street.
In a post on the hotel's TripAdvisor page earlier this month, a guest said their booking was cancelled as the hotel was closing to take refugees.
The families were relocated as the Afganistan government collapsed and the Taliban seized power again nearly 20 years after being driven out by the West.
Heartbreaking scenes have emerged this week as thousands of people were evacuated in US and UK airlifts.
Desperate mums have been throwing babies over razor wire at a compound at Kabul airport as they begged British paratroopers to take them to safety.
The horrifying scenes come as the merciless Taliban have been beating women and gunning down unarmed protesters.
A Government spokesman said: "We are extremely saddened by the tragic death of a child at a hotel in Sheffield.
“The police are providing support to the family while the investigation continues and we cannot comment further at this time.”
A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "We are sorry to share a boy has sadly died after falling from a building in Sheffield this afternoon.
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"Emergency services were called to the Sheffield Metropolitan Hotel on
Blonk Street, Sheffield at around 2.30pm today (18 August) after
reports the boy had fallen from a window.
"The boy’s family are being supported by specially trained officers.
No formal identification has taken place yet.
"Enquiries are in the early stages to establish the exact
circumstances surrounding the incident."
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Police said a boy died after falling from a window at the OYO Sheffield Metropolitan Hotel on Blonk Street. Credit: Ben Lack