A man is lucky to be alive after falling backwards onto a railway line after he was hit on the head and electrocuted by a live wire in India.
CCTV footage captures the disturbing moment that the ticket inspector collapsed to the ground after talking to another man at the Kharagpur railway station in West Bengal.
Sparks could also be seen coming off his shoes as he crashed backwards and onto the railway line where fortunately there were no passing trains during the incident last Wednesday.
The other man could be seen backing away hurriedly in fright.
And images showed a pause before shocked onlookers then rushed to try and help the ticket inspector who was taken to hospital.
He is now receiving treatment but is believed to be out of danger after suffering burns.
A rail official Ananth Rupanagudi tweeted that the cable was brought down by a bird.
"A freak accident - a long piece of loose cable, taken by a bird somehow came in contact with the OHE wire and the other end came down and touched a TTE's (Train Ticket Examiner) head. He suffered burn injuries but is out of danger and under treatment," he said.
He also told India Today that falling cables led to the injury caused by birds.
"We don’t know the exact reason but there were some decorative wires that probably injured the TTE. Fortunately, he is stable. The official is alright and we spoke to him," he said.
Rail accidents happen on a regular basis in India due to an ageing network that has not been well maintained. Safety standards have been criticised on the state run system which carries an estimated 23 million people a day.
Last month a goods train derailed at Korai railway station in Odisha’s Jajpur district killing three people and injuring seven others, said officials, reported local media.
The driver of the empty goods train is believed to have put on his brakes suddenly causing eight wagons to come off the line and hit passengers on the platform and in the waiting hall.
