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27th Apr 2018

Man run over ‘300 times’ on the London Underground as his body lay undiscovered

Wil Jones

Just horrible.

A dead body was reportedly run over by as many as 300 trains, as it lay on the tracks for 14 hours. London Underground staff believed his body was a fox, and Piccadilly Line services continued as normal.

The incident happened between Holborn and Russell Square stations, and CCTV footage showed the 47-year-old from Maidstone, Kent entering the tunnel at Holborn. A rear trip switch was activated at 11.30am on December 28th last year, stopping trains. A manager went to investigate, but mistook the man’s body for a fox, and indicated trains could continue.

Normal service was then resumed, until the remains were discovered in the early hours of the next day.

The man has not been named.

A British transport spokesperson said:

We were called at 1.42am on 29 December to reports that a body had been found in the tunnel between Holborn and Russell Square stations.

“A 47-year-old man from Maidstone was declared dead at the scene. The death was not believed to be suspicious and so a file was prepared for the coroner.”

A Transport for London spokesperson added:

“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who was found in the tunnel between Holborn and Russell Square stations on 29 December 2017.

“We are unable to comment further at this time pending the conclusion of the coroner’s inquest.”