THE FAMILY of a man who fell in front of a train at Petersfield Railway Station has thanked the people who rushed to his aid.
In a dramatic incident just after 1pm on June 11, an elderly man, who lost control of his mobility scooter, fell on to the tracks from the platform - into the path of a Portsmouth bound train.
He was released from under the train by firefighters, including a Petersfield crew. It had been pulling into the town’s station from the London direction and was slowing down to stop when the incident occurred.
The father of the victim has contacted the Petersfield Post on behalf of the family.
He said: "Firstly, I can say that, a week on, my father, who is 81, is still stable, awake and responsive and being very well looked after in hospital and that we are cautiously optimistic that he will pull through.
"Secondly, as a family, we would like, through your paper, to say an enormous thank you to all those many members of the emergency services, railway staff and the public that were able to help him in any way.
"And, lastly, our thoughts and sympathies are with the people who were unfortunate enough to witness what must have been a very traumatic event.
"We would like to reassure them that, in our view, this was a terrible accident and that, despite its serious nature, he is doing amazingly well."
He added that a spokesman for the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service who described his father as being conscious during the rescue, reported in the Post at the time, was mistaken as he was unconscious.