[imagesource:x/apeurope]

In an ironic twist, a whale seemed to have saved humans when a Dutch train burst through a safety barrier on an elevated track, only to come to a precarious stop on top of a huge whale sculpture.

Instead of crashing to the ground 10 metres below, the metro train was caught by an artist’s massive sculpture of a whale’s tail. Despite some damage, no injuries or deaths were reported.

In a further irony, the sculpture installed at the De Akkers station in Spijkenisse, a city just outside Rotterdam, is called “Saved by the Whale’s Tail.” Life imitating art gone wild.

It’s unclear why the train didn’t stop, but the train driver was the only person on board, according to The Associated Press.

“It’s like the scene of a Hollywood movie,” said Ruud Natrop, a spokesman for safety in the Rotterdam-Rijnmond area. “Thank God the tail was there.”

Even the artist who created the sculpture, Maarten Struijs, was amazed that it managed to ‘catch’ the train. “I am amazed that it is so strong,” Struijs said. “When plastic has stood for 20 years, you don’t expect it to hold up a metro train.”

[source:ap]