An Australian man had a miracle escape when a train rolled over him as he slept between railway tracks, police said Friday.
The 20-year-old was having a snooze on the sleepers between the tracks when the train approached him in the early hours of Thursday morning at Port Augusta, in South Australia state, the said.
The driver spotted the man and tried to brake but the locomotive could not halt in time. The train rolled over the man, who was lying in a slight dip, leaving him relatively unscathed, police said.
Local reports said he was believed to be drunk and train operator Freightlink said he was lucky to be alive.
"It was probably lucky he was lying in such a way that the train actually went over him, rather than across him," Freightlink general manager Tony Aldridge told The Australian newspaper, adding it was "not the best place" to take a nap.
"The normal process is people are not as fortunate as this man was," he was quoted as saying. The man was taken to Port Augusta hospital, where a spokeswoman said he was treated for minor scrapes and bruising ahead of his expected release Friday afternoon.
From SYDNEY (AFP)
The 20-year-old was having a snooze on the sleepers between the tracks when the train approached him in the early hours of Thursday morning at Port Augusta, in South Australia state, the said.
The driver spotted the man and tried to brake but the locomotive could not halt in time. The train rolled over the man, who was lying in a slight dip, leaving him relatively unscathed, police said.
Local reports said he was believed to be drunk and train operator Freightlink said he was lucky to be alive.
"It was probably lucky he was lying in such a way that the train actually went over him, rather than across him," Freightlink general manager Tony Aldridge told The Australian newspaper, adding it was "not the best place" to take a nap.
"The normal process is people are not as fortunate as this man was," he was quoted as saying. The man was taken to Port Augusta hospital, where a spokeswoman said he was treated for minor scrapes and bruising ahead of his expected release Friday afternoon.
From SYDNEY (AFP)
Perhaps next time the bloke will have a nap somewhere safer, like the middle of a runway or artillery range
