Metro train saved from 30ft drop by giant whale tail sculpture

3 November 2020, 10:19 | Updated: 3 November 2020, 10:21

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

A train was saved from plunging 10m into water by a whale tail sculpture.

The driver of a train in the Netherlands narrowly escaped disaster thanks to a whale tail sculpture.

A metro in Spijkenisse, which is near the city of Rotterdam, crashed through a barrier at the end of the tracks on Sunday night.

But it was saved from plummeting 32ft into water below by a sculpture of a whale's tail.

Incredible photos captured the moment it balanced on the tail one of two tail fins - known as ‘flukes’ - just outside the De Akkers metro station.

Lots of people gathered at the scene on Monday morning as engineers tried to stabilise and remove the train.

Authorities were even forced to tell sightseers to move away from the incident due to strict coronavirus restrictions in place.

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An official told the Dutch national broadcaster NOS on Monday: "We are trying to decide how we can bring the train down in a careful and controlled manner.”

Luckily, the company that operates the metro line confirmed there were no passengers on the train when it crashed and the unnamed driver was uninjured.

According to the BBC, he was able to leave the empty train by himself and was taken to hospital for a check-up.

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Ruud Natrop, a spokesman for safety in the Rotterdam-Rijnmond area also told The New York Times: "It's like the scene of a Hollywood movie.

"Thank God the tail was there."

The sculpture is called Whale Tails and was created by architect and artist Maarten Struijs in 2002.

Mr Struijs admitted he is surprised the sculpture held up after two decades.

He told NOS: "It has been there for almost 20 years and... you actually expect the plastic to pulverise a bit, but that is apparently not the case.

"I'll make sure that I get a few photos. I could never have imagined it that way."

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