A man has been killed at a major airport in Russia after he was hit by a plane.
The body of a 25-year-old man was found on the airfield of Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport on Tuesday. He was fatally hit by the landing gear of a Boeing 737 headed for Athens, officials said.
Video footage released by the Investigative Committee of Russia showed officials assessing the runway, and a torch shining on unidentified debris littering the ground.
Выясняются обстоятельства происшествия в аэропорту Шереметьево.
— Следственный комитет (@sledcom_rf) November 20, 2018
По предварительным данным, сегодня около 20.10 при взлете самолета Боинг 737 «Шереметьево-Афины» одной из стоек шасси смертельно травмирован 25-летний мужчина.
На месте работают следователи и криминалисты СКР pic.twitter.com/qsH006sKPN
The man had arrived at Sheremetyevo International Airport from the Spanish capital of Madrid, and was taking a connecting flight to Yerevan, the Armenian capital, officials said.
As he waited to board a bus ferrying passengers to the aircraft, he ran onto the runway. At around 8:10 a.m. he was fatally hit by the Boeing 373 as it accelerated.
Officials do not know why the man evaded the bus and instead made his way onto the taxiway.
The Sheremetyevo International Airport press service told Newsweek state law-enforcement authorities are investigating the incident, and the facility is providing the necessary assistance to the authorities.
One of Russia's busiest airports, Sheremetyevo is located 18 miles northwest of the Russian capital, Moscow. International flights operating from the facility include destinations such as France, China and Dubai.
It is rare, but not unheard of, for passengers and crew to be killed on airport runways.
According to U.K. news website SurreyLive, a British man was killed in a runway car crash at Heathrow Airport in February. British Airways engineer John Coles died at one of the world's busiest airports, after the van he was driving and an operations vehicle collided. An inquest has since been launched into the incident.
Alex Cruz, chief executive and chairman of British Airways, sent an email to staff describing the engineer as "well-known and liked."
Last year, a man was killed at Hector International Airport, Fargo, North Dakota, after he was hit by an airport vehicle.
Darry Arveson Jr., 48, of the city of Glen Ullin, was driving a painting vehicle when it was hit by an Airport Authority vehicle, NBC affiliate Valley News Live reported.
Arveson was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and passenger of the Airport Authority vehicle were not hurt.
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