A train in The Netherlands had a lucky escape after it careered off the end of the tracks towards a 10 meter drop, luckily it was stopped by an art installation of a whale fin that managed to keep it from falling. It then became perched there and has since been removed after careful work by the Dutch authorities.
The incident occurred on Sunday the 1st of November at around 11.30 pm at De Akkers metro station near Rotterdam and thankfully no one was injured. The train driver was the only passenger at the time and was able to make his way back through the train to safety. He has now been arrested and is being questioned by Dutch police. A spokesperson for transport operator RET told reporters that this was standard procedure for incidents involving trains. He said:
"It’s not because we think he caused the accident. It’s part of the investigation."
Thanks to the whale's tail, the train is was hanging 10 metres above a walking trail and remained there for some time. A local safety board spokesperson told NOS broadcaster:
"We are trying to decide how we can bring the train down in a careful and controlled manner."
The train suffered significant damage and, if it had fallen 10 meters, it would have caused huge destruction and potentially deaths. The crash caused people residing nearby to be woken from their sleep. A local resident who witnessed the aftermath told Dutch News:
"It was a noise that lasted two or three seconds. I realised there was something on the tail... I thought, 'Something very odd is happening here.'"
The train was eventually removed by large cranes that were brought in to carry out the delicate task. There were cheers from a small crowd of onlookers as it was finally lifted by the two cranes working in tandem. Questions will certainly be being asked in order to stop such an incident from ever happening again.
The sculpture by artist Maarten Struijs is known as 'Whale Tails' and has been in place since 2002.
Struijs told AD.nl.:
"If the metro had driven into the other tail, I think it would have crashed through. Obviously it looks very poetic, but it’s a bonus that the train is being supported by the tail."
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