The unnamed pilot is now recovering following the ordeal (Picture: Getty Images)
A British Airways pilot was kidnapped and tortured after he was targeted by a group of men during a flight stopover, BA has revealed.
He was bundled into a car outside a supermarket in Johannesburg, South Africa, after a woman asked him to help carry her bags.
A group of men then dragged him into the vehicle she had led him to.
He was then driven to a remote part of the city where he was ‘badly roughed up’ and made to hand over thousands of pounds.
After being released he was so badly shaken that he could not fly his plane and he has been off work since.
A source told The Sun: ‘It’s staggering what happened to the pilot. It was like something out of the movies.
‘He fell for the scam of agreeing to help a woman in need, and before he knew it was bundled in a vehicle and driven away.
‘He then endured hours of torture and physical assaults. It only ended when he was left penniless.’
BA warns staff against going to some areas of Johannesburg. The hotel is in Melrose Arch, thought to be one of the safest parts of the city.
The attack happened outside the Checkers Bluebird supermarket just north of the Melrose Arch complex in Johannesburg (Picture: Leon McGowran)
A BA alert sent to staff said: ‘A crew member was abducted outside Checkers Bluebird supermarket just north of the Melrose Arch complex.’
A BA spokesperson told Metro: ‘We are supporting our colleague and the local authorities with their investigation.’
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