Whale’s tail sculpture saves the Dutch subway train



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A Dutch subway train was saved from disaster when it crashed into a security barrier, but a sculpture of a whale’s tail prevented it from plummeting.

The train conductor, who was the only person on board, was unharmed in the incident that occurred shortly after midnight in Spijkenisse, near the port city of Rotterdam.

The front carriage hung ten meters above the water, supported only by the giant silver-colored sculpture, improbably called “Saved by the Whale’s Tail.”

“The subway derailed and landed at a monument called Saved by the Whale’s Tail. So that literally happened,” Carly Gorter of the Rijnmond regional security authority told AFP.

“Because of the whale’s tail, the driver was saved, it’s amazing.”

The driver was later detained for questioning, the security authority said. The cause of the accident was still under investigation.

The sculpture was built about 20 years ago in a park below the elevated subway, its name is a deliberate play on the fact that it is a “tail track” at the end of the line.

It has two large whale tails sticking out of the water, one of which saved the train.

A team of experts, including the architect of the sculpture, was now on site to figure out how to safely remove the train.

“The problem is that there is water around it, so a crane cannot get there,” said Ms Gorter.

“We have a lot of wind at the moment and that is one of the problems we face, it is a risk and a concern.”



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