Mystery surrounding death of British Airways flight attendant, 45, found dead in San Francisco hotel room
Proper news from Britain - News from Britain you won’t find anywhere else. Not the tosh the big media force-feed you every day!
A British Airways flight attendant who was found dead in his hotel room during an American stopover is a father of three young children.
Irfan Ali Mirza, 45, landed in San Francisco from London Heathrow airport last Tuesday and had a two-day layover before the return flight.
However, he failed to report for duty on Thursday after staying at the crew hotel, sparking concern from his colleagues.
After failing to raise him on the phone, hotel managers unlocked the room, where they found Mirza, from London, dead in his bed.
The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed his identity on Tuesday hours after his family identified him on social media.
Police said the responding officers' investigation of the scene 'did not discover any evidence of foul play' and the body was taken by the medical examiner.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner refused to provide any more information, including cause of death or if it still had possession of Mirza's body.
Mirza was mourned online by his family and dozens of shocked colleagues who worked with him during his career in the skies.
His brother Kamran Mirza said he looked up to him as the brothers lived together after the rest of their immediate family moved.
'It has really shocked me and the rest of the family that Irfan is not with us anymore. Cannot express what we are going through right now,' he wrote.
'We both were born in the same month, June, only 4 days apart. There were times we celebrated our birthday at the same time. Now that moment will never come again. It's heartbreaking.'
Kamran thanked his brother's colleagues for their outpouring of support, and asked they keep his family in their prayers.
'Cannot express how hard it is that Irfan left his parents, us three siblings and his wife and three young children behind. Its totally heartbreaking,' he wrote.
The BA 284 flight from San Francisco International Airport to London Heathrow due to depart at 4.20pm on April 17 was cancelled.
Passengers were not told why the flight was cancelled, and were given hotel rooms while alternative arrangements were made.
Crewmates were reportedly too upset to fly after the grim discovery was made.
It was unclear how long he had lain undiscovered - and may have been there for as long as two days.
Pilots who had gone on ahead to the airport to prepare for the flight also returned to the hotel to comfort colleagues.
British Airways confirmed that the man was a member of crew.
In a statement to the Sun, it said: 'Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of our colleague at this difficult time.'
Sources told the newspaper: 'There was no way the flight back from San Francisco could go ahead. Staff were in absolute bits at the sudden loss of their friend.
'The steward was a popular member of the team and this came as a bolt from the blue.'
The flight, BA 284, involved an Airbus A380-800, which the airline says can carry up to 469 passengers across four classes.
The return journey, BA 285, from London to SFO, was also cancelled the next day after being due to depart London at 10.45am, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
BA, Marriott and local authorities in San Francisco were contacted for further comment.
Last year, a British Airways pilot aged 47 died during a stopover between flights on the Caribbean island of St Lucia.
The Senior First Officer had collapsed at a luxury hotel in front of shocked guests, according to contemporary reports.
His death meant that BA had to cancel a flight from Vieux Fort to London Gatwick.
