Weird News - Tourist survives unorthodox train ride

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Tourist survives unorthodox train ride

PORT AUGUSTA, Australia (UPI) -- A U.S. tourist in Australia says he nearly died after attempting to ride on a fast-moving train bundled in a small unprotected stairwell.

The Sunday Times reported 19-year-old Alaskan Chad Vance said after nearly missing his train in South Australia, he jumped onto one of the vehicle's small stairwells and held on for his life as the train traveled at speeds up to 68 mph.

"I was worried I wasn't going to survive," said Vance, who also endured frigid temperatures during his daring train ride May 28. "If I'd fallen off at that speed and hit the nasty looking rocks below I don't think I would have made it."

After holding on for dear life for 124 miles, a member of the train's crew heard Vance's desperate cries for help and stopped the train to allow the tourist a more traditional passenger seat.

"Chad is a very lucky guy: when we rescued him his skin was white and his lips were blue," crew member Marty Wells told the Times. "We were still about three hours away from our next scheduled stop and in that time he could have easily died of hypothermia or lost his grip and fallen to his death."

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

This news arrived on: 06/08/2009

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