Shortly after arriving from Kenya, a man fainted and passed away at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, USA.
Mr. Stafford Osore, 36, flew with the Emirate airline from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) through Dubai to New York, but he never made it out of the airport.
Mr. Felix Osore, a resident of the USA, revealed in an exclusive interview with Nairobi News that the brother even wrote on the family’s WhatsApp group that he had arrived safely after arriving at the airport.
“Once the plane landed, he notified us through our WhatsApp family group landed safely,” Mr Felix said.
He claimed that despite waiting for him at the airport the entire time in the hopes of seeing him, he never arrived and that he had no idea that his brother had already passed out and was receiving medical attention.
Mr. Felix claimed that he had taken his two children—a boy who was 7 years old and a daughter who was 2 years old—to pick up his deceased brother.
“I was there by 3:30pm even before he had sent the message that he had arrived here in New York safely. Around 4:33pm, I asked him through the family WhatsApp group why it was taking him long to come to the waiting area but he never responded,” Mr Felix said, adding that when he called him the phone went unanswered.
According to him, when he took long to respond, the son also suggested that probably Stafford was not at the airport and they could just go back home.
However, Mr Felix said that he asked his son to relax and they give their uncle some more time but deep down his heart he felt like something was not right.
“I decided that its better I take the kids back home and come back alone to find out where my brother was, as he had told us he landed safely,” he said.
After driving from New York to New Jersey, Mr. Felix told his wife that he had returned the kids to their home and that she should return to the airport to hunt for his brother.
He got a call from the New York Port Authority asking about his contact with Mr. Stafford while he was making his way back to the airport.
He let them know that they were related and that he was on his way to the airport to pick up the man as they had arranged.
At that point, he learned that his brother had become ill at the airport upon landing, been taken to the hospital, and been declared dead when he arrived.
“I just asked them which hospital he was in and I drove there only to find the body of my late brother,” Mr Felix said.
He claimed that the New York Port Authority had told him that once his late brother entered the first-class section, he became unstable.
Fortunately, an airline hostess noticed that something wasn’t right and she swiftly ordered him a wheelchair.
After being pushed for some time, he rose up to take a few paces before collapsing and gripping his chest.
Three weeks ago, Mr. Felix traveled to Kenya from the United States and stayed with his sister in South B, Lang’ata Sub-County, Nairobi.
Later, he visited his sister in Bondo, Siaya County, and then proceeded to Homa Bay County, where he also met his mother.
He was working in the US and he arrived there in 2015 as a Masters student.