Caught on video: Man clings to helicopter flying to burial ceremony
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dramatic video that appeared online Friday showed a man holding on to one of the skis of a helicopter for dear life, stunning mourners who had gathered to remember a business leader shot dead in Kenya.
Commenters called him a Kenyan James Bond. At first, he refused to let go even when the pilot lowered the chopper to within a few feet off the ground.
Later on, the pilot reportedly lowered the helicopter again, and the man finally jumped off, surviving despite injuries to his face, hip and elbow.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The helicopter was transporting businessman Jacob Juma's body to a burial site, the Nairobi News reported. The website identified the man who grabbed onto the chopper as 41-year-old Saleh Wanjala.
Wanjala told the site he'd been standing next to the helicopter to get a glimpse of Juma's body, but his leg somehow got stuck as the aircraft was taking off. With few options, he said he decided to hang on.
He smelled of alcohol when he arrived at the hospital, the Nairobi News reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Juma had been linked to lawsuits against the government over a string of failed business deals before he was killed on May 5. Officials in Nairobi reportedly denied engaging in a plot to murder him.