Heathrow conveyor belt accident victim's kin allege neglect
The victim’s lawyers have launched a case against Menzies to pay for transferring Jasbir Sahota to a specialist hospital
By Shajil KumarMay 26, 2024
The family of an Asian-origin woman employee at Menzies has accused the aviation services company of leaving her in the lurch after she sustained injuries three months ago while handling baggage at Heathrow airport.
On February 14, Jasbir Sahota (52) sustained physical injuries and brain damage after her scarf got caught and dragged her headfirst into a conveyor belt while offloading luggage from an aeroplane, The Telegraph reports.
Jasbir's children have accused Menzies of treating their mother "like a number rather than a valued employee." She has been on the rolls of the company for nearly 30 years.
They claim she needs specialist care and should be moved from the NHS-run Hillingdon Hospital to the private Wellington Hospital.
Jasbir's two children, Nina Haer and Harman Sahota, along with her brother-in-law Satti Heir, have now decided to take legal action against the company.
Lawyers acting for the family have now launched a case against Menzies in a bid to force the multinational to pay the cost of transferring Jasbir to Wellington Hospital, a provider of specialist complex care.
Satti claims that moving her to Wellington Hospital is crucial for Jasbir's recovery as NHS hospitals cannot provide specialist treatment.
When the accident happened, Menzies had assured Jasbir's children that they would do everything they could to help.
But as weeks passed by the family heard less and less from Menzies. They claim that the only practical assistance offered by the firm had been to pay for taxis taking them to Hillingdon Hospital.
Jasbir's daughter Nina, 31, claims they have "become completely obstructive". Satti said Mezies owes it to Jasbir has she has been a long-standing devoted worker.
Jasbir's lawyers have discovered several cases of accidents at Menzies workplaces and they have been fined for inadequate safety measures.
Founded in 1833, Menzies has become a transport services giant, with cargo handling, ground operations and passenger services at airports across the globe.
Its global revenue grew by 10.7 per cent to $2.2 billion (£1.74bn) last year, its third year of consecutive double-digit revenue growth.
Afghan relatives and mourners surround coffins of victims, killed in aerial strikes by Pakistan, during a funeral ceremony at a cemetery in the Urgun district of Paktika province on October 18, 2025. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
PAKISTAN officials will hold talks in Qatar on Saturday (18) with their Afghan counterparts, a day after Islamabad launched air strikes on its neighbour killing at least 10 people and breaking a ceasefire that had brought two days of calm to the border.
"Defence minister Khawaja Asif and intelligence chief General Asim Malik will be heading to Doha today for talks with Afghan Taliban," Pakistan state TV said.
An Afghan Taliban government official also confirmed the talks would take place.
"A high-level delegation from the Islamic Emirate, led by defense minister Mohammed Yaqub, left for Doha today," Afghan Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X.
But late on Friday (17) Afghanistan accused Pakistan of breaking the ceasefire, with deadly effect.
"Pakistan has broken the ceasefire and bombed three locations in Paktika" province, a senior Taliban official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Afghanistan will retaliate."
Ten civilians were killed and 12 others wounded in the strikes, a provincial hospital official said on condition of anonymity, adding that two children were among the dead.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board told AFP that three players who were in the region for a domestic tournament were killed, revising down an earlier toll of eight.
It also said it was withdrawing from the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series involving Pakistan, scheduled for next month.
In Pakistan, a senior security official said that forces had "conducted precision aerial strikes" in Afghan border areas targeting the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, a local faction linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) -- the Pakistani Taliban.
Islamabad said that same group had been involved in a suicide bombing and gun attack at a military camp in the North Waziristan district that borders Afghanistan, which left seven Pakistani paramilitary troops dead.
Security issues are at the heart of the tensions, with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of harbouring militant groups led by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) -- the Pakistani Taliban -- on its soil, a claim Kabul denies.
The cross-border violence had escalated dramatically from Saturday, days after explosions rocked the Afghan capital Kabul, just as the Taliban's foreign minister began an unprecedented visit to India, Pakistan's longtime rival.
The Taliban then launched an offensive along parts of its southern border with Pakistan, prompting Islamabad to vow a strong response of its own.
When the truce began at 1300 GMT on Wednesday (15), Islamabad said that it was to last 48 hours, but Kabul said the ceasefire would remain in effect until Pakistan violated it.
Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif accused Kabul of acting as "a proxy of India" and "plotting" against Pakistan.
"From now on, demarches will no longer be framed as appeals for peace, and delegations will not be sent to Kabul," Asif wrote in a post on X.
"Wherever the source of terrorism is, it will have to pay a heavy price."
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah said its forces had been ordered not to attack unless Pakistani forces fired first.
"If they do, then you have every right to defend your country," he said in an interview with the Afghan television channel Ariana, relaying the message sent to the troops.
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