Man dies trying to save brother who was on London tube track
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Version 0 of 1. A man has died after being hit by a tube train after apparently trying to save his younger brother who was on the track at a station. The brother of the dead man is in a critical but stable condition after the incident at Old Street station in central London, British Transport police (BTP) said. The two men, aged 32 and 35, from Manchester and London respectively, were discovered with serious injuries at the central London station by BTP officers early on Sunday morning. Both were treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken in a critical condition to the Royal London hospital in Whitechapel where the older brother died the same day. BTP said the incident, which happened at 12.20am on Sunday, shortly before services stop running and as people made their way home after nights out, was not being treated as suspicious but as a “tragic accident”. Tube workers told the London Evening Standard that it appeared the incident unfolded after one of the men dropped an item onto the tracks. One was quoted as saying: “They played the CCTV and you could see that the man dropped something down on to the track, a mobile phone or a wallet or something, and even though the train was coming he went down to try and get it. “The other person who tried to help him was then hit as they were leaning over and trying to help him back up. But the train came along and hit them too. It was really tragic. “It happened at the back of the platform, just as the train pulls in so maybe they didn’t realise how close the train was.” Eyewitness Josie Griffiths told the Standard it was a horrific scene with one man under the tube train but responding and people crying. “The atmosphere on the platform turned from happy night out to very grim,” she said. “I just did not want to look.” Transport for London said it was assisting police in a thorough investigation. The RMT trade union said it was a reminder of the dangers across the network and that it was seeking more information. Investigating BTP officer DS Adrian Naylor said: “I am keen to speak to anyone who was at the station or on the platform when the incident happened to help us understand how the two men came to be struck by a train.” There are about 25 deaths a year on London Underground, excluding those from natural causes. On 12 March, a woman suffered serious arm and head injuries as she was dragged along the platform at Clapham South tube station after getting her coat caught in a train door. |