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Dutch Whale Tail Sculpture Catches Metro Train

November 2, 2020

A Dutch train burst past the end of its elevated tracks in the Netherlands and was saved by a giant whale sculpture.

Bij station De Akkers in Spijkenisse is vannacht een metro door een stopblok geschoten. Het voertuig kwam op een hoogte van tien meter tot stilstand tegen een kunstwerk in de vorm van een walvisstaart https://t.co/rBBvPRMF5q pic.twitter.com/32x3Fsd6FF

— de Volkskrant (@volkskrant) November 2, 2020

The driver of the metro train escaped injury when the front carriage rammed through the end of an elevated section of rails and was caught by the whale sculpture near the Dutch city of Rotterdam.

In a ridiculous coincidence, the name of the sculpture is "Saved by the Whale's Tail". So that literally happened.

The train was left perched upon one of the two tail fins and now engineers are tasked with trying to figure out how to get the train down.

"A team of experts is investigating how we can make it safe and get it down," Carly Gorter, a spokeswoman for the local security authority, told AP in a phone interview.

The architect who designed the sculpture, Maarten Struijs, told RTL he was pleased that it likely saved the life of the driver.

"I'm surprised it's so strong," he said. "If plastic has been standing for 20 years, you don't expect it to hold a metro carriage."