UK: Woman Trapped In Toilet Uses Cotton Buds And Eyeliner To Escape

A woman from Cambridge, United Kingdom, used a cotton bud and an eyeliner tube to free herself from a bathroom where she was trapped for almost seven hours. Sharing this story to X (formerly Twitter), Krisztina Ilko said that the incident happened due to miscommunication with a plumber who forgot to tell her that he had broken the lock of her bathroom. Ilko is an academician at the University of Cambridge, where she resides in one of the medieval towers in Queen's College that date back to before the 16th century, according to BBC.

The plumber broke the lock in the bathroom and forgot to tell me. I went in, got locked in. The door is solid wood and wouldn’t break. I was stuck for 7 hours (I thought I’d be there for days, as no one could hear). Finally, handpicked the lock with an eyeliner and an ear pick. pic.twitter.com/oDyw73bQ4t

— Dr Krisztina Ilko (@krisztina_ilko) February 23, 2024

BBC reported that the 33-year-old professor stays in the same room where the 16th-century philosopher Erasmus once resided. The historic tower has thick walls, heavy wooden doors and no window in the bathroom, which meant no one could hear Ilko shouting for help.

Woman Escapes Bathroom After Seven Hours

Krisztina Ilko described on X that a plumber who had come to fix her shower forgot to tell her that he had broken the lock. The academician who stayed in the room alone was stuck there for seven hours, while no one could hear her shouting for help. The thick walls and heavy wooden doors made it all the more difficult. 

Ilko was trapped there on a Thursday, and the room was due to be cleaned by the workers only the following Monday. Speaking to BBC, the UK academician described the frightening experience. "I was trying to remember how long a person can survive on just water and hoping that I wouldn't die there. (I kept wondering) if people came looking for me, would they check the bathroom, or would I have to wait for Monday?"

"I tried to bang the shower head on the door, break it with brute force, and shout for help but nothing worked and no one could hear me." She also described that she bruised her arm, trying to break down the door. After multiple attempts, she recalled her childhood love for the fictional problem-solver MacGyver to hatch an escape plan.

Ilko decided to use the materials available in the bathroom to try and handpick the lock. She used an eyeliner tube to push down the latch and made a hook out of cotton earbuds to finally escape. "When I eventually got out and the door opened it was exhilarating because I didn't think it would work. I expected to be there for five days or longer, but I made it out," she told BBC.