A five-year-old boy died instantly after falling from a 15th-floor tower block window which had become "compromised", an inquest heard. Aalim Ahmed fell from a tilt-and-turn kitchen window at a residential block in Plaistow, east London, shortly before 6am on May 16, 2024.
Father's discovery
His dad, Makail Ahmed, rushed from their top-floor temporary social housing flat after discovering what had happened and found his son's body below. Aalim's mum, Sahra Osman, has described her son's death as "preventable" and blamed Newham Council, claiming she had repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of the flat.
An inquest into Aalim's death heard contrasting accounts about the condition of the windows and the concerns that had previously been raised.
Conflicting accounts
An engineer sent by Newham Council to carry out an inspection and look at overhauling the windows and handles said they were functioning when he saw them on December 17 2023. In contrast, Ms Osman had a list of complaints spanning several months which included her fears the windows were opening too wide and she did not have a key, the court also heard.
Assistant coroner Ian Wade, sitting at East London Coroner's Court, said the windows "were not used appropriately". He delivered a narrative conclusion on Monday, in which he said: "Aalim was an active five-year-old boy who suffered from a diagnosed condition called autism, such as to render him incapable of making reliable judgments about his personal safety and abilities.
"In the early hours of May 16 2024… he awoke and went from his bedroom to the kitchen, he climbed onto a chair and then onto the windowsill of an insecure double turn and tilt window. He opened the window and in a naïve belief that he could fly or alternatively could come to no harm he leapt from the open window… he died at the scene."
Coroner's conclusion
Mr Wade said he did not find a basis for issuing a report to prevent future deaths, adding: "I find there was no compelling reason why a landlord should've considered that placing this little boy on the 15th floor was inappropriate." He said: "It wasn't the fact that it was the 15th floor that was significant, what was significant was that the windows had become compromised."
The court previously heard a young child's voice is twice heard counting down "three, two, one" followed a few seconds later by "a loud clang" was captured on grainy audio, which was taken from CCTV outside the apartment block. Detective Constable Joe Linton, who carried out a review of CCTV footage outside Jacobs House, previously said "it is most likely from the footage available" that Aalim had "jumped out" of the flat at the building in New City Road "of his own accord without the presence of a third party".
A post-mortem examination found Aalim died from "multiple injuries due to or as a consequence of trauma" from a "fall from height".
Family's concerns
Ms Osman has told the court she was "scared" and "horrified" when the council put her young family in the flat, which needed repairs, saying Aalim was autistic with "no sense of danger". All the windows were closed before the family, which also included her toddler son and a newborn girl, went to bed. Ms Osman denied any suggestion she may have "forced" the window open to cope in hot weather.
Aalim could have been climbing to get a biscuit from a cupboard but the windows had "faulty" restrictors and her ongoing complaints to get them fixed led only to a series of workmen who did not sort the problem, she said.
Window engineer Charlie Mann said the windows were "all working", including the handles and restrictors, when he tested them in December 2023. A restrictor is a safety device which is meant to allow the window to open only 50-100mm. Having spoken to the mum, who said her son had autism, he decided the restrictors should be changed to a lockable version rather than one that can be worked by a button. He ordered nine restrictors and contractors came to fix them in January 2024.
Engineer's findings
Charlie Mann's dad, James Mann, who is managing director of ABC Ltd the firm where the window engineer works, watched videos of police operating the window from which Aalim fell. He said the window appeared to be going into "dual mode", which he said could be caused by "misalignment, misuse or force". This is a fault which meant the window tilted and turned open at the same time, despite the handle being in only the tilt position.
In the video, the court saw that the restrictor did not engage every time the police officer tested the window. He said that "there needs to be an adjustment, something is not quite right" but he added he needed to see more of the window to have a clearer idea of the problem.
Tom Monk, who worked for ABC Ltd, told the court he went to the flat in January 2024 to fit the new restrictors and spent one to two hours there. He said he may have been there twice, a couple of days later and fitted a new hinge on a casement window.
Detective Inspector Jamie Humm, who investigated the incident, said there was "no evidence or suspicion he (Aalim) had been forced". "The flat was well furnished and it was clearly a loving environment for a child," he noted. He added that soon after arriving at the scene he was satisfied "there was no evidence of a crime, not that I thought there would be".
