Old Street station Tube rescuer hit by train dies

 

_82003401_db2892b7-dafc-46b1-9596-5626e8e8b7f9A man has died after being hit by a Tube train as he attempted to rescue another man who fell on to the tracks.

The 35-year-old, from London, was found at Old Street Station after police were called at 00:22 BST on Sunday.

A second 32-year-old man, from Manchester, thought to have accidently fallen on to the tracks, is in a critical condition in hospital.

British Transport Police described the man’s death as a “tragic accident” and are not treating it as suspicious.

‘Then he slipped’

London Ambulance Service said the man from Manchester suffered multiple injuries.

One witness, who asked not to be named, told the BBC he was waiting on the platform on his way home to Clapham Junction from Shoreditch when the events unfolded in front of him.

“I was really close, on the same platform in front of them. Just waiting for the Tube,” he said.

_82003893_oldstreet2The 35-year-old man died later on Sunday after being taken to the Royal Free Hospital

“One of them was jumping really close to the line and then he slipped on to the tracks.

“Before it happened I was really worried the man might fall.

“The train was just seconds from coming. That was what stopped me from trying to help. I froze.”

The two men had walked on to the platform together and appeared to know each other, he said.

“The guy who was trying to save him was on the edge of the platform trying to pick him up with his hands but it was too late, the train came 20 seconds later.”

Another witness, Robert Brown, said: “I’m a trainee accountant and I’m 24. Thirty-five is no age to die.”

Mr Brown, who is originally from Manchester but now lives in east London, had been out for dinner in Shoreditch celebrating a friend’s birthday and was catching the last Tube home.

He said: “I saw the train approaching from a distance and then saw the person fall into the tracks.”

The person he was with “instantly” tried to pull him up before the train arrived, Mr Brown said.

He said the “rescuer” was then thrown back on to the platform from the impact.

“People tried to approach him and there were screams. Pretty much every girl was crying and I just stood there head in hands,” Mr Brown said.

The injured men were treated by paramedics at the station and taken to the Royal Free Hospital, where the 35-year-old died later on Sunday.

Read more:http://www.bbc.com

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