The conductor of a metro escaped injury when the front car struck the end of a raised section of rails and was caught by a Sculpture of a whale tail near the Dutch port city of Rotterdam
The train was left perched on one of the two caudal fins called « moats » several meters above the ground
It created such a stir locally that authorities urged tourists to stay away, adding that coronavirus restrictions were in place
Despite this, around 50 people were on the scene late Monday morning as engineers tried to find a way to stabilize and then withdraw the train amid the increasingly strong winds.
« A team of experts are investigating how we can secure it and bring it down, » Carly Gorter, spokesperson for local security authorities, said in a telephone interview.
The architect who designed the sculpture, Maarten Struijs, told Dutch channel RTL he was happy it probably saved the driver’s life
« I’m surprised it’s so strong, » he said « If plastic has been standing for 20 years, you wouldn’t expect it to contain a subway car »
The company that operates the metro line said the driver was not injured and there were no passengers on the train when it crashed through stopping barriers at the ‘end of the station in the town of Spijkenisse, on the southern outskirts of Rotterdam, early Monday Morning The station is the last stop of the metro line
Authorities launched an investigation into how the train could cross the barrier at the end of the tracks The driver was being questioned as part of the investigation, the Rijnmondveilig security authority said
Whales, rapid transit, Netherlands
News from the world – GB – What a stroke of luck: Dutch whale tail sculpture catches metro
