A metro train which smashed through the end of a platform was saved from plummeting to the ground by a piece of art.
Last night the vehicle crashed through the barrier at De Akkers station in Spijkenisse, Netherlands.
Rather than hurtling about ten metres to the floor below, the train was caught by a large sculpture poetically titled 'Saved by a Whale's tail'.
The metro driver, who was the only person on board, managed to get out unharmed.
Despite working remarkably well as a back-up train barrier, the piece of work was not designed with that function in mind.
Artist Maarten Struijs told AD : “There are two tails. If the metro had hit that other tail, I think it would have fallen through.
"Sure, it looks poetic, but it's really a stroke of luck that the train is carried by the tail."
The collision started a small fire which was quickly extinguished.
It is not yet clear how the crash happened.
Emergency services are on the scene working out how to pull the train back into the station.
The driver is said to be shocked but otherwise well.
In the early hours of this morning Dutch police tweeted: "A metro passed through a stop block.
"This resulted in significant damage. For the time being no one seems to be hurt.
"Police on the spot, other emergency services are on the way."
