Australia - Railway sleeper's lucky escape
Posted: 11 Jan 2008, 16:52
Railway sleeper's lucky escape
James Orr and agencies
Friday January 11, 2008
Guardian Unlimited
A drunken man who fell asleep on a railway line in Australia had a miraculous escape after being run over by a freight train, it emerged today.
The 20-year-old - who has not been named - suffered only minor injuries including a bump on the head, after falling asleep on a level crossing in Port Augusta.
The incident happened when the train approached in the early hours of the morning, newspapers reported today.
Seeing the man, the driver slammed on the emergency brakes but the train - carrying 3,000 tonnes of freight - failed to stop in time and rolled over him.
Tony Aldridge, the general manager of the Freightlink company, said railway tracks were "not the best place" to take a nap.
"It was probably lucky he was lying in such a way that the train actually went over him rather than across him," he told the Australian newspaper, adding that the clearance under the train was only 30cm (11in).
The man was taken to Port Augusta hospital with minor injuries, and reportedly hit his head on the train while trying to sit up.
James Orr and agencies
Friday January 11, 2008
Guardian Unlimited
A drunken man who fell asleep on a railway line in Australia had a miraculous escape after being run over by a freight train, it emerged today.
The 20-year-old - who has not been named - suffered only minor injuries including a bump on the head, after falling asleep on a level crossing in Port Augusta.
The incident happened when the train approached in the early hours of the morning, newspapers reported today.
Seeing the man, the driver slammed on the emergency brakes but the train - carrying 3,000 tonnes of freight - failed to stop in time and rolled over him.
Tony Aldridge, the general manager of the Freightlink company, said railway tracks were "not the best place" to take a nap.
"It was probably lucky he was lying in such a way that the train actually went over him rather than across him," he told the Australian newspaper, adding that the clearance under the train was only 30cm (11in).
The man was taken to Port Augusta hospital with minor injuries, and reportedly hit his head on the train while trying to sit up.