A man who was filmed being chased across the tarmac Heathrow Airport, was an illegal migrant who was set to be deported from the UK.
The man had escaped prior to boarding a commercial flight which was due to depart to India, MailOnline understands.
He was being escorted to the UK by contractors Mitie Care & Custody on behalf of the Home Office.
However the man managed to get away from his security escorts and made it out of the airport.
He was then captured on video by a member of the public, who shared the footage on social media.
The man was spotted being chased by at least four other men as he raced across the airport grounds near Terminal 2.
He was pursued for around a minute before he is eventually stopped.
After managing to evade airport staff on foot, a van appears and two men jump out to capture the runaway man.
The man is seen being chased by staff at Heathrow airport on Sunday
He manages to get away from his chasers as he heads towards the runway
He was escorted away from the planes by the two men.
The police were later seen arriving. The man was pinned to the ground as he was arrested by the police.
The man was then returned to the flight and deported from the UK.
A spokesperson for Mitie said: ‘An investigation into the incident is underway. The individual was quickly apprehended, re-boarded the flight, and was handed over to the relevant authorities on landing.’
The Home Office are understood to be investigating the incident.
During the video, the narrator becomes increasingly frustrated by the bizarre situation unfolding in front of him.
He said: ‘What is going on here. Why would there be people running? That geezer is running from someone, they are chasing him.
‘What is going on? Isn’t there anyone fit enough to take him down.’
Eventually a van pulls up and two men are seen escorting the man away from danger
Becoming more frustrated by witnessing the man still not caught, he said: ‘They are going to have to stop the operations, they are going to have to stop aircraft moving, he is running straight towards them.’
After the man was stopped, the narrator added: ‘What the hell was that all about.
‘They are stopping aircraft taxiing as well.
‘If that was America there would be 50 vehicles there by now, 700 police. One bloke.’
A Heathrow spokesperson said: ‘Working with partners, we have quickly resolved an incident at the airport involving an individual who accessed the airfield taxiway.
‘The individual has been removed from the airport.
‘The airport continues to operate as normal and passengers are travelling as planned.’
