An unusual sight was observed on Thursday by people waiting for a train after 6:00 PM at the Tornakalns station. A naked man was walking along the railway tracks towards the center of Riga, despite a locomotive moving behind him. Neither the snow under his feet nor the gazes of those around him stopped the man from continuing his path until he was detained by the police.
Like a terminator, a man confidently walked along the snowy tracks at the Tornakalns station, reports the Degpunktā program (TV3). His already pale skin was illuminated by the train lights, and it seemed that the man almost blended in with the snow cover beneath his bare feet. Upon seeing the unusual scene, people waiting for the train on the platform managed to capture his determined march.
"I was waiting for a train from Riga to Jelgava. I saw that a train was coming from Riga towards Tukums or Jurmala, I don’t know exactly where. And it was moving very slowly. Then I turned around, looked to see why it was going so slowly, and saw that a train was coming from Jurmala, and in front of it was this man. (DP: Just in front of the train?) Yes, he was walking in front of the train. (DP: And the train wasn’t honking, wasn’t trying to do anything?) The train was honking, but it was moving very slowly, it’s hard to say how long it was going so slowly," said a witness.
According to the passenger carrier "Vivi", the young man stepped onto the tracks from the platform. For its part, "Latvijas dzelzceļš" reported that upon noticing the naked man, the train driver immediately applied emergency braking and sounded the horn to prevent an accident. Communication with law enforcement was established immediately.
The man’s footprints in the snow stretched for several hundred meters. When police managed to detain him, the man refused to communicate and was subsequently handed over to medical personnel.
Law enforcement reported that the approximately 24-year-old man may have been experiencing severe emotional distress or suffering from mental disorders. For this reason, no punishment for public disorder was applied in this case. Expert examinations will determine whether such behavior is related to the use of intoxicating substances.
When asked if the man appeared to be intoxicated, the witness said: "He looked drunk and possibly under the influence of drugs. (DP: But there were many people on the platform at that time?) In fact, yes, there were quite a few people. (DP: How did they react, was there shock?) There was shock, everyone was shocked. But no one ran away, they just stood and watched."
When asked if any of the witnesses tried to pull the man off the tracks, she replied negatively: "No, but I assume that because the train was moving very, very slowly behind him, the driver saw him. Perhaps if the train hadn’t noticed him, it would have been different. But where would you go and how would you pull someone like that away?"
In total, seven trains were delayed from four to 20 minutes. "Latvijas dzelzceļš" reminds that railway tracks are a high-risk area where everyone must be as attentive as possible and act responsibly. It should also be remembered that a train cannot be stopped instantly.
