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A Cambridge academic says she feared for her life after being trapped in a medieval tower bath for seven hours before managing to escape.
Dr Krisztina Ilko used eyeliner and a cotton swab to pick the locks on the heavy wooden bathroom door found in her room at Queens’ College, once occupied by 16th-century philosopher Desiderius Erasmus.
The 33-year-old feared she would be trapped for days after failing to pick the lock on the door, leaving her imprisoned in the windowless room of the historic tower on Thursday.
The rooms would not be cleaned until Monday, meaning the young researcher faced more than 100 hours inside the bathroom without food or her mobile phone.
Dr Ilko revealed how she tried to bang the shower head on the door to open it and desperately screamed for help before turning to two everyday items to aid her escape.
Dr. Krisztina Ilko used eyeliner and a cotton swab to pick the locks on the heavy wooden bathroom door of the Queens’ College dormitories.
The 33-year-old feared she would be trapped for days after being imprisoned in the windowless room of the historic tower on Thursday.
Dr Ilko revealed how she tried to bang the shower head on the door to open it and screamed for help before turning to two everyday items to help save her.
She told the Telegraph: “I was trying to remember how long a person can survive on water alone and hoping I wouldn’t die there.”
‘If people came looking for me, would they check the bathroom or would I have to wait until Monday?
“I tried punching the shower door, breaking it with brute force and screaming for help, but nothing worked and no one could hear me.”
After hurting her shoulder from unsuccessful attempts to break down the door, Dr. Ilko stuck the eyeliner pencil through the keyhole to push down the latch on the other side and then used the cotton swab as a hook to get free.
She revealed that she is a fan of the fictional problem solver MacGyver, which inspired her to use the two items to aid her escape.
She added: “I was very happy and also very proud to be able to use my wits to get out.” I felt relief, absolutely.
“Sometimes when I hear sounds around here I joke that it’s the ghost of Erasmus, and then I thought I was going to join him and become a Cambridge legend.”
The university academic believes a plumber working on his shower had broken the door latch earlier that week.
The university has since removed the lock on the bathroom door.
Queens’ College has been contacted for comment.