Sarah Cunningham, 31, climbed into the northbound tunnel at Chalk Farm on the Northern Line after a night out with friends in Camden in November, and was found dead two days later
An “immensely funny” artist lay dead in an Underground tunnel for two days after vanishing during a night out with friends, an inquest heard.
Sarah Cunningham, 31, had been out in Camden before she drunkenly climbed into the northbound tunnel at Chalk Farm station, moments after missing a Northern Line train. Giving evidence at Poplar Coroner’s Court, passenger service supervisor Mehmet Boztepe said he had noticed Sarah “stomping and upset” on CCTV, but she was missing from the platform when he went to check. He assumed she had boarded a train, but instead she had clambered into the tunnel and was found dead two days later, MyLondon reported.
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Her father, Edward Cunningham, told the inquest he was convinced she had not intended to die, insisting in a statement: “In my view, Sarah did not commit suicide. She was not low, depressed, or unhappy.”
The CCTV footage played to the court showed her staggering around the station and dropping her belongings, trying to enter through the exit gates, slumping into multiple chairs, and swaying over the yellow line on the edge of the platform. Eventually, she was tapped in by a stranger who used his card to let her through the correct barrier.
Sarah’s remains were only discovered when Mr Boztepe reviewed CCTV footage two days later, in the early hours of November 4, following calls from police officers to say they had retraced Sarah’s footsteps to the station. Mr Boztepe said he had not noticed anything unusual during a check of the tunnel in the intervening period.
He stood by his decision not to rewind the CCTV or ask the control room to halt the trains, adding: “If there was no train, [her being in the tunnel] would have been a possibility and I would have taken action.”
TfL’s Dale Smith, head of customer operations on the Northern and Jubilee lines, said it was “acceptable” under the organisation’s current policy for the gateline to be unmanned and added he thought Mr Boztepe had acted appropriately within the guidelines.
However, Mr Smith, and TfL’s own report, also conceded there was a “missed opportunity” to interact with Sarah, potentially stopping her from walking into the tunnel later on.
Eleanor Fernandes, a friend for more than a decade, said Sarah was ‘full of love for everyone’ and “immensely funny”. Coroner Mary Hassell fought back tears as she ruled the death was an accident that happened while Sarah was under the influence of alcohol, cocaine, and ketamine following a night out at the Jazz Cafe nightclub.
Friends also gave evidence she may have taken an ‘edible’ or magic mushroom chocolate, and was suffering “bad jet lag” after landing home from a work trip to South Korea.
Her death was not ruled a suicide as there was no evidence she had wanted to take her own life.
Thomas Jervis, a solicitor from Leigh Day, said it was “truly shocking” how long Sarah remained on the tracks after her death. He added: “Neither TfL or Sadiq Khan have reached out to Sarah’s family to apologise for the agony they have gone through.”
In a statement Claire Mann, TfL’s chief operating officer, said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Sarah Cunningham, who tragically died at Chalk Farm Tube station on 2 November 2024.
“We are supporting the coroner in relation to the inquest into this incident and we have carried out our own internal investigation, which we have shared with the coroner.
“We recognise the important role our staff play in protecting customers from harm and we will always take action to learn from incidents and improve operational safety.”
