Commuters tilt train to save trapped man
A man slipped and became stuck in the gap between a train and a station platform in the Western Australia city of Perth on Wednesday.
The man wriggled and squirmed, but couldn't get his leg out of the 5cm gap.
The staff at the station then thought up a "brilliant" solution. They told passengers to move to the opposite side of the train in the hope that their collective weight would shift the train away from the man's leg.
Sorry to burst your bubble, guys, but that only works in cartoons.
The staff then hit on the more feasible idea of getting commuters to tilt the carriage away from the man. (Duh, why didn't you guys try that first?)
About 50 people lined up in a row along the platform and pushed the train with all their might.
We're not sure how much the train actually moved, but the man managed to get his leg out.
The incident took place at 8.50am and was resolved in just 10 minutes.
Transperth spokesman Claire Krol said: "It is the first time we’ve seen something like this happen."
"We were really fortunate that the staff were there straight away... and all of the passengers not only listened to the instructions from staff, but pitched in and helped. This is a real case of passengers of working together... and people power are the perfect words to describe it," she said.
The man was treated by paramedics and was able to catch a later train.
"The end result here is: really lucky for the man involved, but really nice as well to see that everyone came together as a community,” Ms Krol added.
Source: AFP
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