Latest news with #MichaelAndrews
Telegraph
06-07-2025
- Telegraph
Eurostar passengers evacuate on to tracks after hours-long breakdown
Passengers have been left stranded for seven hours after a Eurostar train broke down. Footage on social media shows dozens of passengers walking next to the tracks hours after the London-bound train from Brussels stopped between Lille and Calais in northern France because of a power failure. The doors were opened and water handed out to passengers, a Eurostar spokesman confirmed, but four hours into the wait, passengers left the train. Eurostar said a replacement had been sent from London which was scheduled to arrive at 1.30pm, but was delayed. It was thought to have arrived by 4.45pm, according to the BBC. The company confirmed it would be refunding passengers and has offered them a full cash refund or a 300 per cent return of the ticket value in an e-voucher. Passengers had left Brussels at 8.52am local time and were due to arrive in London at 9.57am. The frustrated travellers have taken to social media to vent their frustration. Michael Andrews wrote on X: 'Stuck on the @Eurostar for 4.5 hours, stationary, toilets full, electricity off & absolutely boiling alive... They tweeted there would be a replacement train at 1.30, no sign.' Approaching seven hours, we start walking to then be told there is STILL no sign of a replacement train? — Alana (@alanaroberts13) July 6, 2025 Alana Roberts wrote: 'You waited over two and a half hours before even communicating this, now looking at four hours stuck on this train and still no replacement! There is no air, not even some water offered, staff should be coming carriage to carriage to give us verbal updates at the minimum.' Ms Roberts tweeted again, this time a video of people walking along the tracks with their bags: 'Approaching seven hours, we start walking to then be told there is STILL no sign of a replacement train.' A fellow passenger who only gave her names as Valentina wrote to Eurostar, as she complained about the heat and 'inhumane conditions'. She said: 'I am on this train with two small children who are overheating! There are no toilets, there is no air, these are inhumane conditions. There is still no replacement.' Ms Roberts went on to say: 'Now almost 15:00 and still nothing from you, people are feeling serious unwell at this point.' After 6h on a broken-down Eurostar we cracked out the guitars to remind everybody #theOnlyWayIsUp — Stornoway (@StornowayBand) July 6, 2025 Passenger Edward Hardy, who hosts The Hardy Report political news podcast, posted a video showing Oxford band Stornoway provided some relief to travellers by playing music along the tracks. Mr Hardy wrote: 'A band has started serenading stranded Eurostar passengers with a song titled Home.' The indie folk band wrote on X: 'We cracked out the guitars to remind everybody #theOnlyWayIsUp.' They named themselves after the Scottish town on the Hebridean Isle of Lewis, despite never having been there. They have since visited multiple times since 2010. A Eurostar spokesman said: 'Earlier today, Eurostar train 9117, travelling from Brussels to London, came to a standstill between Lille and Calais due to a power failure, leaving the train without onboard electricity. 'To provide passengers with some comfort during the delay, train doors were opened to allow fresh air to circulate, and water was distributed. 'A rescue train was promptly dispatched from Brussels to carry out a complex transfer operation. This process, supported by local authorities and SNCF Réseau personnel on site, is taking longer than anticipated and is still ongoing. 'Eurostar teams are doing everything possible to ensure all affected passengers reach their final destination, London St Pancras, as soon as possible. 'We understand how difficult this experience has been and sincerely apologise for the disruption and discomfort caused. We are also extremely grateful for our passengers' patience and cooperation throughout.'
RNZ News
06-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
LynnMall stabbing inquest hears emotional testimony from brave hero who aided victims
Ahamed Samsudeen coming out of the New Lynn train station, on the day of the attack on in September 2021. Photo: Supplied Two civilians, who'd earlier been awarded bravery medals for their courageous acts during the LynnMall terror attack in 2021, have given emotional testimonies at the inquest of Ahamed Samsudeen - with one of them sharing that they told Samsudeen on the day of the attack, "Your God does not condone this". Samsudeen stabbed five people, and injured two others at a Countdown supermarket in Auckland's New Lynn, before he was shot and killed by police. Michael Andrews held back tears as he recounted the events of 3 September 2021, particularly when he spoke of seeing the injured survivors. Andrews said he heard Samsudeen say to himself "Allahu Akbar" three or four times as he crouched over a victim. Andrews said he told Samsudeen his actions were wrong. "I firmly stated 'Your God does not condone this', before I yelled at him," he said. Michael Andrews, who awareded a New Zealand Bravery Medal for his actions following the mass stabbing, giving witness testimony on Friday. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi Andrews said he was within 1.5 metres of Samsudeen, who subsequently came toward him with the knife. "He swung his knife aggressively towards me and with much more energy than when he had been stabbing and cutting [survivor] on the ground. "He went from zero to a hundred quickly and moved towards me to attack me," Andrews recalled. Andrews said he ran away and grabbed a metal pole for protection. He said he held the pole toward Samsudeen as the attacker continued to swing the knife toward him. Andrews said another shopper yelled at Samsudeen, eventually distracting him away. Andrews was emotional as he spoke of seeing an injured survivor on the ground. He said he'd asked another shopper to hold the hand of the survivor to keep her conscious, as he went to apply pressure to the wounds of another survivor. Off-duty paramedic Ross Tomlinson was another civilian who attempted to distract Samsudeen and stop him from attacking others. Tomlinson said he witnessed Samsudeen stabbing a person and told him to drop his weapon. He told the inquest he was then approached by Samsudeen. "I told Mr Samsudeen several times to drop the knife. He didn't respond and kept coming towards me. "He didn't run but was pacing towards me. His breathing was heavy with a deranged look on his face. "It was neither happy nor angry, but deranged or manic." Ross Tomlinson during his evidence into the inquest of Ahamed Samsudeen. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi Tomlinson said Samsudeen was slashing his knife in the air and was saying with a raised voice, "Allahu Akbar". He said several other civilians were also trying to distract Samsudeen and asked him to put down the knife, before the two plain-clothed police officers arrived. Tomlinson said both officers had ordered Samsudeen to put down his knife before they shot him. "The commands from them were really, really clear. People from behind scattered when they were told to get out of the way. "There is in no world where he didn't hear that command very clearly, repeated and was given every opportunity to drop that weapon. He didn't do so. "As a matter of fact, they (the police) acted in my best interests to save my life. [It's] worth stating that those commands were very, very clear and he was afforded every opportunity to stop this violence," he said. Under questioning by a lawyer Anna Adams assisting the Coroner, Tomlinson said the two officers were the first to attend to Samsudeen after they shot him. He said he also unpacked some nappies from the shelves for helping with Samsudeen's wounds - however based on more than 10 years of experience as a paramedic, he felt Samsudeen couldn't have been saved. Tomlinson said he observed signs of "agonal breathing" from Samsudeen, which he said happens with people who are having a cardiac arrest or some form of internal haemorrhaging. He said Samsudeen's breathing quickly stopped and he believed that there was not much one could do to save him, and even life support may not have worked. Earlier when Coroner Marcus Elliott opened the inquest, he said it would not be revisiting the conclusion of the Independent Police Conduct Authority finding that two officers were legally justified in shooting Samsudeen, and that the surveillance officer who decided not to follow Samsudeen into the supermarket initially, had acted reasonably. However, he said that does not mean there was nothing to learn from the attack, and the inquest would discuss recommendations. More to come... Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
