Tube horror as stricken pensioner who fell onto tracks was fatally struck by four trains
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An elderly passenger who fell from a Tube station platform onto the tracks died after being hit by four Underground trains, an investigation has revealed. The man, Brian Mitchell, 72, lay stranded on the tracks of a Jubilee line platform for five-and-a-half minutes, when he tried in vain to save himself but was unable to climb back onto the platform.
But he was not spotted on the station CCTV or by the driver of the first incoming train – possibly because the driver’s level of attention had been reduced because the train was operating in automatic mode. The tragedy happened on Boxing Day 2023, at around 2.45pm. Mr Mitchell, who had been visiting friends and had travelled on the Tube from Stanmore, stumbled forwards and fell about 0.7m onto the live tracks.
A second driver arriving at the platform did not see Mr Mitchell, whose body was between the platform edge and the nearest rail to the platform. A third driver did see an object but thought it was an “inflatable doll” rather than a human. A fourth driver was allowed to pull into the platform despite a customer service assistant at the station knowing by this time that a person was on the track.
A toxicology report found that Mr Mitchell had 272 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his body - more than three times over the drink-drive limit. The RAIB investigation said that although the driver of the fourth inbound train had spotted that there was a person on the track, they did not stop their train.
