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Not every day does anyone play their best imitation of an action hero clinging to a high-speed train, but for one Hungarian man, it wasn't something out of a Hollywood movie: a very ill-advised and desperate attempt to get back his luggage. The bizarre incident that unfolded on a German Intercity Express train has left authorities scratching their heads and the internet in stitches.
A Smoking Break on High-Speed Train Gone Wild
The drama started at the Ingolstadt station when the man, a 40-year-old Hungarian traveler, got off the high-speed train to have a quick smoke. What he did not know was that the punctual train schedule does not wait for anybody, and just as he smoked, the ICE train locked doors and started to pull out of the station. Realizing his luggage was still aboard, the man made a split-second decision and it wasn't to let go of his belongings. Instead, he jumped onto a bracket between two carriages and clung on for dear life at speeds of up to 282 km/h (175 mph).
Clinging to cables and bracing himself against the force of the wind, the man continued his high-speed train journey toward Nuremberg. Only passengers aboard the train remained entirely oblivious to what was happening until witnesses tipped off the federal police. It called the driver and the high-speed train was pulled to an emergency stop at Kinding, a station about 30 kilometers from where the wild ride began.
Luckily, the man was unharmed and was back on the train in no time, assisted by a police officer who happened to be among the passengers. He may have escaped physical injury, but legal injury is another story altogether. The police are now after him for fare evasion and an administrative offense on account of the disruption of operations. This rash yet bold move raises discussions of safety and common sense once more, but this time, with a bucketload of humor.
News of the incident sent social media platforms abuzz in no time, and the dangerous ride soon became a comedy goldmine as users comically mixed disbelief with tongue-in-cheek humor.
One user joked, "Was the passenger Tom Cruise?" referencing the action star's penchant for death-defying stunts in the Mission Impossible film series.
Another said, "Probably not as planned," capturing the accident succinctly in three words. Others were sympathetic but couldn't help adding a bit of dark humor.
“That sounds like a horrific experience!!! Maybe he will quit smoking,” one commenter noted, drawing laughs and nods in equal measure.
The German authorities took advantage of this opportunity to remind one more time about the warnings against tampering with high-speed trains or attempting to board them incorrectly.
Yet, the absurdity of it all has kept people engaged. It's not often that a man's cigarette break becomes a survival story in its own meme gallery. Smokers and social media users have cast him in the role of everything from an adrenaline junkie to a living cartoon character; many have admitted that while the act was careless, a part of them can't help but be impressed by the sheer determination.
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As the dust settles on this wild ride, so the Hungarian passenger's tale joins an ever-growing list of bizarre, train-related escapades that leave us all questioning human decision-making. He may face fines and other legal actions, but his tale has already reached viral fame, immortalized in a flood of memes and jokes that will live on in internet infamy.
For the rest of us, however, the story has a simple moral: leave German punctuality alone, and if you ever get closed out of the high-speed train, remember- the luggage is just not worth flying over the door. Unless your name is Tom Cruise.
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