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London commuters describe woman's screams after falling between Tube train and platform at Canning Town

The station was evacuated as emergency services lifted the train to free her

Lizzie Dearden
Thursday 26 May 2016 06:09 EDT
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Canning Town station was evacuated after a woman's leg became trapped between a Tube train and the platform on 26 May
Canning Town station was evacuated after a woman's leg became trapped between a Tube train and the platform on 26 May (Najeeb Khan)

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Horrified London commuters have described hearing a woman's screams after she fell into the gap between a Tube train and platform.

The woman was getting off a Jubilee Line train at around 8.20am when she got her leg caught, causing Canning Town station to be evacuated as the emergency services worked to free her.

Nicole Evariste, who was on the same train, said passengers did not immediately realise why it had stopped at the east London Undergound station.

Crowds evacuating Canning Town station (Abu Typo )
Crowds evacuating Canning Town station (Abu Typo ) (Abu Typo)

"We could just see running on the platform and hear screaming but people seemed concerned," she told the Evening Standard.

"It was such a horrible thing to hear and then the emergency services were arriving and we could hear sirens."

Another witness, Georgia Riley, the woman was shouting about being in a lot of pain.

"I didn't see but somebody said if tube moved, her leg would have just gone,“ she added. ”She sounded like she was in so much pain."

Man shoves woman on tube platform into oncoming train

A spokesperson for Transport for London (TfL) said staff immediately stopped services to attempt to free the woman's foot but had to get a jack to lift the entire Tube train so it could be removed.

Building crowds at Canning Town station caused it to be evacuated at 8.45am, as thousands of commuters were delayed across London.

The London Fire Brigade was called to help the rescue, bringing specialist equipment to assist paramedics and station staff.

A spokesperson for the London Ambulance Service said the woman escaped with minor injuries and did not need to go to hospital.

“We sent a number of resources including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer, an advanced paramedic, and our hazardous area response team to the scene,” he added.

“Our paramedics treated a woman at the scene for a minor leg injury but she was not taken to hospital."

Canning Town station was evacuated after a woman's leg became trapped between a Tube train and the platform on 26 May
Canning Town station was evacuated after a woman's leg became trapped between a Tube train and the platform on 26 May (Seema Mariam Hakim ‏)

The Jubilee Line was temporarily suspended between Stratford and North Greenwich and DLR services were not allowed to stop at Canning Town because of the risk of overcrowding.

Those arriving at the station at the height of morning rush hour found their way to work blocked and photographed huge crowds outside attempting to find alternative routes.

A spokesperson for TfL said Canning Town station reopened at 9.30am and all services had resumed but warned of continuing delays.

He added: “Our staff were present, along with all emergency services, to help the passenger and resolve the situation as safely as possible.”

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