Police have launched a manhunt for unknown suspects who kidnapped and robbed a British pilot on Monday in the Melrose Arch area.

The pilot from British Airways was abducted during a stopover between flights in Johannesburg. He was shopping at BluBird Shopping Centre at the time of the attack. 

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According to MailOnline, British Airways deters staff from venturing into high-crime areas of Johannesburg, however, the pilot’s crew who were staying in Melrose Arch had been led to believe that the area was supposed to be the safest part of the city.

According to national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, a woman approached the pilot at BluBird Shopping Centre asking for assistance with her bags to her car. 

“When they got to the car he was accosted by armed men who kidnapped him, held him captive and cleaned out his bank account,” Mathe said. 

Specific details remain unclear and police have yet to disclose how and when the kidnappers released the pilot.

International tabloid media reported that the pilot was tortured during the ordeal but South African police said they are investigating a case of common robbery and kidnapping. 

The Sun reported that someone took the unnamed pilot to a remote area of the city and “badly roughed him up”. 

The pilot had allegedly handed the thugs thousands of pounds and was unable to pilot the plane back to London due to the injuries he suffered. 

A source also told The Sun that the ordeal was “staggering” and “like something out of the movies”. 

They said: “He endured hours of torture and physical assaults. It only ended when he was left penniless”.

In response to Daily Maverick’s questions, British Airways said, “We are supporting our colleague and the local authorities with their investigation.” 

This is the second British Airways pilot to be attacked and robbed in the same area within six months. A captain from the airline was out jogging near Melrose Arch in July 2023 following a stopover when he was attacked and robbed.  

The incident also happened days after a Canadian tourist and his two children were abducted, assaulted, robbed and threatened for four hours by bogus police officers in Mpumalanga. 

According to News24, after being abducted, Sean Stephens, 50, his children, Trinity, 18, and Kai, 15, his mother and her friend were taken from ATM to ATM and forced at gunpoint to withdraw cash from their bank accounts on Saturday night.

The incident will again put the spotlight on South Africa following the UK government’s notice to its citizens about the SA’s high crime rate. 

Last year, while on holiday in SA with his family, 40-year-old British doctor Kar Hao Teoh was killed at the peak of the Santaco taxi strike on 3 August in Nyanga.

Police believe he was driving near the airport when he took a wrong turn towards a group of protesters.

TimesLive reported that Kar Hao Teoh was with his wife Sara and their two-year-old son Hugo when he was fatally shot.

According to BBC News, the victim was a trauma consultant and orthopaedic surgeon at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex. DM