Boy Glued to His Phone Falls onto Prague Metro Tracks — Passer-by Saves Him

On the evening of September 1, at around 6 p.m., a seven-year-old boy fell onto the tracks at Muzeum metro station in Prague, just moments before a train was due to arrive. He was pulled to safety with only seconds to spare, thanks to the quick reaction of a passer-by and several other passengers, said Prague police spokeswoman Eva Kropáčová.

Security camera footage shows the boy entering the station with a relative, phone in hand, eyes fixed on the screen the entire time. At some point he stepped into empty space and tumbled down onto the tracks — with a train already approaching the platform seconds later.

A Rescue at the Last Possible Moment

According to the police spokeswoman, a foreign national who happened to be on the platform jumped down onto the tracks and, together with other passengers, managed to pull the child back up in mere seconds. Footage shows the train already entering the station while the man was still down on the tracks — he was hauled back up to the platform at the very last moment.

The rescue was also aided by someone quickly pressing the emergency stop button located at the edge of the platform. According to the Prague transport authority's website, emergency train-stop buttons are installed on the platform of every metro station — separately for each track — usually near the beginning and end of the platform, mounted on walls or columns.

These buttons are designed precisely for situations like this, when someone falls onto the tracks: the signal is sent directly to equipment installed in the train's lead car, causing it to stop or preventing it from setting off at all.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz