Man cheats death in sub station fall

Sep 11 2007 By Alison Dayani, Birmingham Mail

A MAN suffered multiple injuries after falling 40ft from a Birmingham street wall into a train electricity sub station.

The victim narrowly missed 35,000 volt cables used to power the railway lines as he fell.

A passer-by who heard his cries for help jumped into action, flagging down a passing ambulance to rush to the victim's aid in Winson Green last night.

Paramedic Raj Mahay and emergency medical technician Gavin Robertson clambered into the Network Rail site, in Aberdeen Street, opposite City Hospital, to reach the man as he lay semi-conscious at 8.25pm.

They discovered he had broken both his ankles, a wrist and elbow as well as suffering facial and back injuries.

Fire crews then carried the patient on a stretcher up a steep embankment to City Hospital opposite.

A West Midland Ambulance Service spokesman said they had no idea how the man fell, but had been seen sitting on a wall, which looked over the rail lines and sub station.

Chris Green, an incident support officer for the Ambulance Service, said: "No-one is quite sure how it happened but the man was lying inside the sub station amongst machinery. He had fallen approximately 40ft and had somehow missed all of the 35,000 volt cables that are used to power the railway line.

"I don't know how the patient managed to miss all of the power cables, it could so easily have been a very different story otherwise."

Mr Green added: "The crew went down to the area beside the track to start treatment after first checking that it was safe for them to do so, but the patient had breaks to both ankles, one wrist and an elbow."

British Transport Police have launched an investigation into the accident.

A West Midlands Fire Service spokeswoman said: "Crews assisted removing the patient from the Winson Green feeder station while paramedics stabilised him."

She added that the site supplies overhead line equipment and power for train lines in the area.

Services on the railway line were not disrupted...SUPL: