Perth man who didn't 'mind the gap' freed

Last updated 20:33 06/08/2014

Man freed by passengers after falling in the gap between train and platform. Julie Noce reports.

Railway station mishap
Nicolas Taylor
MIND THE GAP: This man slipped and fell at a Perth railway station, trapping his leg.

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Dozens of passengers have had to rock a train carriage back and forth to free a man whose leg was caught in the gap at a Perth station.

Public Transport Authority spokesman David Hynes said the man was boarding the train into the city at Stirling Station on Wednesday morning when he stepped awkwardly, causing him to slip down the gap.

He said it was an impressive feat because the gap between the train and platform was less than five centimetres.

Passengers were asked to stand to the other side of the carriage to push the weight away from the man but it was not enough to free him, Hynes said.

"When that didn't work, they got people off and gathered together enough of them to line up, 50 or so, and say 'one, two, three, push'," he said.

Hynes described it as a "heartwarming" rescue where "people power saves the day".

He warned people to "mind the gap" and not to stand near the doorways of arriving trains.

A passenger, known only as Nic, said the man appeared to be in shock but not in pain, and was lifted to safety by two other passengers once the gap widened.

Paramedics treated the man but he was not badly injured and caught a later train.

Nic said the incident made him rethink the warning "mind the gap".

"It's not something you sort of think about or really take seriously," Nic said.

"I always thought it was a bit of a joke but now, yeah, you kind of do."

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- WA Today

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