Bernard Ovu: Man who was trapped and died in Tube stairwell 'could have lived if safety rules were followed'

A coroner has demanded action by London Underground after an IT expert who fell to his death at a Tube station lay undiscovered for more than seven hours.

Bernard Ovu, 35, was trapped in a stairwell at Canning Town station for nearly an hour before falling and suffering a “catastrophic head injury”.

Walthamstow coroner’s court heard the sole member of staff on duty, on January 22, failed to check when Mr Ovu set off an alarm by accidentally going through an emergency door. The inquest heard that safety procedures were “inconsistent and unclear”.

In a narrative verdict, a jury found: “Processes that were known in the event of an emergency door trigger were not followed. Had this process been carried out, it is possible that Bernard may have been located earlier.”

After the inquest the coroner issued a Prevention of Further Deaths Notice urging changes.

Mr Ovu, an IT systems support worker who worked for the Bar Council, had been drinking at a wedding and was on his way home. When he went through the staff-only door, it slammed shut and he spent about 50 minutes in the stairwell hoping to be rescued.

Mr Ovu fell down the stairs at 2.49am as he tried to escape but was not found until much later that morning. After his death the RMT union called for an independent inquiry into Tube job cuts and staffing levels.

Brian Woodhead, LU operations director, said an extra 325 staff were being posted to Tube stations.

However, Kathryn Macken, of law firm Bindmans, which represented Mr Ovu’s family, said the Further Deaths Notice makes it “clear that the risk of further harm persists”.

Mr Ovu’s father Stephen said after the inquest: “We sincerely hope that further improvements will be made so that no one else has to die in this way.”

In its verdict, the jury found the fall was due to Mr Ovu’s physical state rather than environmental factors, and once he had fallen it was unlikely he could have been saved.