Man narrowly escapes getting hit by train in Netherlands by a second

A cyclist escaped with his life earlier this year after being caught on camera, a second away from getting hit by a train in the Netherlands.

The incident happened in Geleen, a city in the southern Netherlands, and was caught on CCTV footage.

Video shows a man waiting behind the train crossing barriers as one passes by him. He then begins to make his way across the tracks when another train begins to come towards him. He begins to speed and the train narrowly misses him by a split second.

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ProRail released the footage, 9 News reports, to warn people using unguarded crossings, as more than 100 near-misses have taken place in the Netherlands each year.

“If people knew how often it almost goes wrong — and what the consequences are for the train drivers, conductors, first-aid services and relatives — it is difficult to see why people would want to risk it,” ProRail spokesperson Geert Vlogman told Metro.

The video was released as part of a safety initiative started by the government organization as a way to raise awareness.

At this time, there are 113 unguarded crossings across the country and the organization wants to either have a guard put in place or have the crossing be converted into an under or overpass in the next four years.

According to Reuters, three people have died on the country’s crossings in 2018.

— With a file from Reuters