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Commuters band together to push train off man who trapped leg in gap between carriage and platform

Witnesses say the man fell where 'mind the gap' was written

Heather Saul
Thursday 07 August 2014 06:31 BST
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Perth commuters band together to push train off man who trapped leg in gap between carriage and platform
Perth commuters band together to push train off man who trapped leg in gap between carriage and platform (Getty)

A commuter whose leg became trapped between a train and the platform edge was freed by his fellow passengers, who collectively managed to push the entire train up and away from him.

The incident occurred at Stirling Station in Perth, Australia, at 8.50am local time when the man slipped and found one of his legs wedged in the gap.

In dramatic CCTV footage, commuters can be seen rushing to the man's assistance and tipping the whole carriage away from him until he managed to free his leg. Shortly after they boarded the train and services resumed as normal.

Witness Nicholas Taylor told Perth Now the man appeared to be ok after the incident and was walking normally. “He seemed to be a bit sheepish, because right where he fell was the ‘mind the gap’ writing," he added.

Transperth spokesman David Hynes told ABC News the man was walking onto the train at the tail end of peak hour when he slipped and became trapped.

"He stood in the doorway and as he was sort of taking up his position there, one leg slipped outside the door, slipped outside the gap, and he was stuck," he said.

"We alerted the driver, made sure the train didn't move.

"Then our staff who were there at the time got the passengers, and there were lots of them, off the train, and organised them to sort of rock, tilt the train backwards away from the platform so they were able to get him out and rescue him."

The man was seen by paramedics but was not taken to hospital for treatment. It is understood that he did not sustain any serious injuries.

The incident isn't the first time commuters have banded together to free a fellow passenger. In July, commuters at a station in Tokyo managed to push a 30,000 kg train off a woman she fell down the gap between it and the platform. The woman was not seriously injured and the train continued its journey just eight minutes later.

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