Napster
31-10-2003, 05:28 PM
Thousands of commuters were left stranded in New York after a man got his hand stuck down a train toilet trying to retrieve his mobile phone.
The man spent 90 minutes with his arm wedged in the u-bend trying to reach the phone he had dropped.
The 6.19pm train had just left New York's Grand Central Station when a passenger alerted the crew to the man's plight.
"A customer aboard the train contacted the conductor to say there was a customer in the toilet in distress," said a spokesman for the train company Metro-North.
A supervisor boarded the train and, as it travelled about 50 blocks north, the crew tried desperately to free the man's arm from the stainless steel toilet.
After another 20 minutes of struggling, police and firefighters were called.
The train was brought to a halt at the city's Fordham station, where it blocked the line while the rescue operation went on.
Other trains were unable to pass, and the knock-on effect meant thousands of commuters were delayed.
After trying a number of different methods to free the arm, firefighters had to dismantle the entire toilet.
The man was treated at a local hospital but soon released. He never found his mobile phone.
Story filed: 17:14 Friday 31st October 2003
The man spent 90 minutes with his arm wedged in the u-bend trying to reach the phone he had dropped.
The 6.19pm train had just left New York's Grand Central Station when a passenger alerted the crew to the man's plight.
"A customer aboard the train contacted the conductor to say there was a customer in the toilet in distress," said a spokesman for the train company Metro-North.
A supervisor boarded the train and, as it travelled about 50 blocks north, the crew tried desperately to free the man's arm from the stainless steel toilet.
After another 20 minutes of struggling, police and firefighters were called.
The train was brought to a halt at the city's Fordham station, where it blocked the line while the rescue operation went on.
Other trains were unable to pass, and the knock-on effect meant thousands of commuters were delayed.
After trying a number of different methods to free the arm, firefighters had to dismantle the entire toilet.
The man was treated at a local hospital but soon released. He never found his mobile phone.
Story filed: 17:14 Friday 31st October 2003