BUENOS AIRES (Reuters)
An Argentine train without a
driver but with 500 passengers on board rushed out of
control through six stations in Buenos Aires before a guard
managed to stop it at the last station on
the line.
The driver had got off the train to check the electric door
closing system but a guard, not noticing his absence, closed
the doors and the train took off. A passenger in the first wagon
saw a man running alongside the train trying to jump on
board.
``He was running but not shouting. How was I to know he was
the driver and that
the train had started without him?''
Veronica Rienzi told reporters.
When the train did not stop at any station and began
gathering speed, some passengers started screaming. Others
went to the driver's cabin to try to put the brakes on.
``There were scenes of panic. 'Let's go to the rear wagons,'
someone shouted,'' said Rienzi.
Finally, just feet (meters) outside the last station on the
line, one of the guards on board managed to stop the train.
