Eldery man on mobility scooter saved from oncoming train

An elderly man on a mobility scooter narrowly escaped death on Saturday afternoon in Haren. The man's mobility scooter came to a standstill on the tracks right when a train was about to arrive.

"An old man stepped off and began to pull, so I went with two others to help push, but it remained stuck," a 14-year-old witness told RTL Nieuws.

The railway barriers began to close and bystanders helped the man from the tracks. Although the elderly man still wanted to free his scooter from the railway, according to the witness.

The train crashed into the scooter, but the man remained unharmed. "I heard a loud bang. It was chaos. There were parts everywhere. The train stopped a little further down," the boy said. It was unclear why the mobility scooter stopped in the middle of the tracks, although it is likely the motor gave out.

Train traffic between Assen and Groningen was disrupted for several hours.