The stairs on the train roof more and more young men cost their health – or even their lives. A current study of the Meduni Vienna brings frightening details about the brutal consequences of “train branch”: almost every second accident loses part of the body.
“Electrical injuries due to high voltage are a complex challenge in the surgery of accidents and restoration, because various organ systems are often influenced”“ Warn doctors of the Meduni Vienna in their publication in the “Journal of Clinical Medicine”.
The figures are crushed
Austrian surgeons and Intensive Care Doctors analyzed the data of 102 victims with high tension – 32 of them train surfers. Her finding: these so -driven “test of courage” end very brutally.
“Train operations suffered more seriously burns,” says the publication in the Journal of Clinical Medicine – an average of 48 percent of the body surface was burned, in the case of work accidents this value was only 25 percent.
Young men are the most important victims
Almost all train surfers are young men: “In recent decades, the male share has reported 90 percent,” said the doctors. The average age: only 19 years. For comparison: the victims of work accidents with high tension are on average 34 years old.
Very shocking: “An amputation had to be made in about 53 percent of the affected after electricity accidents on a train set, ”the experts write. This is twice as often as in work accidents (26 percent).
Temperatures of up to 20,000 degrees
What many don’t know: you don’t even have to touch the overhead line.
“An electric shock can also occur without direct contact, because high voltage lights (…) can load the air and cause devastating injuries.” These arches reach the temperatures of up to 20,000 degrees Celsius!
The dramatic consequences of the train -surfing are not only theoretical risks, but recently manifested themselves tragically in Austria. On October 29, 2024, four young men climbed on the roof of a U4 train in Vienna to “surf” it.
When entering the Schönbrunn station, two of them, a 17 and an 18-year-old, crashed into a pedestrian bridge and suffered the serious injuries. Both died later in the hospital. A 16-year-old came away with slight injuries, a 13-year-old boy was not injured.
The consequences are dramatic: “Deep Power Burns, life -threatening complications such as cardiac arrhythmias or (…) kidney failure”, plus skull fractures, spine or severely multiple trauma due to waterfalls or collisions with the rail infrastructure.
Doctors increase alarm
“Train Surfer was a longer stay at Intensive Care (38.7 compared to 17.9 days) and were more often operated per patient (5.3 times versus 2.8 times),” says the analysis too. The death rate is 25 percent in both groups. The researchers’ research is clear:
“All this can only underline the urgent need as intensive preventive measures.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
