Austrian Train Speeds Off, Leaving Man Clinging for Dear Life After Cigarette Break

VIENNA, Aug 11 — An Austrian man survived a harrowing ordeal clinging to the outside of a high-speed train after it departed while he was taking a cigarette break, Austria’s state railway confirmed Sunday.

According to railway spokesman Herbert Hofer, the incident occurred late Saturday at St Poelten, west of Vienna. The man reportedly grabbed onto the outside of the Railjet service bound for the Austrian capital from Zurich, Switzerland. The train made an emergency stop to bring him safely aboard.

“It’s incredibly irresponsible — these situations often end in death,” Hofer said, warning that such actions endanger not only the person involved but also rescuers, police, and firefighters.

The Railjet departed St Poelten on schedule but arrived in Vienna seven minutes late due to the emergency.

Austrian tabloid Heute reported that the 24-year-old Algerian passenger had stepped onto the platform to smoke during a scheduled stop. When the train began to move, he jumped into the gap between two carriages and started banging on windows to get attention. The conductor then activated the emergency brake, and train staff pulled him inside.

“The conductor really gave him a telling-off,” a passenger told Heute.

Police escorted the man from Vienna’s Meidling station upon arrival. Hofer declined to comment on his background, citing ongoing investigations.

A similar incident occurred in January, when a 40-year-old Hungarian man survived holding onto a German high-speed train for 20 miles after missing his chance to reboard during a cigarette break. — AFP