A man is being treated for horrific burns subsequent to coming into contact with overhead links at Birmingham’s New Street railroad station.
One spectator said the man, who is a member of the general public and not a railroad worker, was ablaze after the occurrence at 08:00 GMT. He was taken to an emergency clinic in a dangerous condition.
A British Transport Police (BTP) representative said the conditions were not accepted to be suspicious. An air rescue vehicle was seen arriving over the station as paramedics landed at the scene.
The BTP representative stated: “Paramedics and police quickly arrived on the scene, and a man was treated for burn injuries.
“At this early stage, it is believed he came into contact with the overhead power lines.
“He has been taken to hospital where his condition is described as life-threatening.”
Birmingham New Street station is the sixth busiest train station in the UK outside of London. It has an intake of over 6.8 million passengers using its interchange annually. The station has over ten platforms and runs adjacent to the metro line.
Coming in to contact with overhead wires at railway stations is extremely dangerous. A safe distance should be maintained from them at all times. The cables hold a high voltage which connects to feeder stations via the national grid. Their voltage can be as high as 400,000 V through a contact wire feeding the train, enabling it to run at high speeds.
National Rail said on its website: “Emergency services are currently dealing with an incident at Birmingham New Street. Consequently, there are a reduced number of platforms at the station, and this means that trains may be cancelled, delayed or revised.”
One Twitter user said he had seen a “man on fire”.
