Japan Rail baffled by man who jumped onto tracks and disappeared

Mystery man caused a 30 minute delay of service.

At approximately 8:20 p.m. on 25 March, the Azusa No. 33 express bound for Shinjuku Station was approaching Musashi-Koganei Station at a high speed. Just then the driver spotted a man jumping off the platform and onto the tracks.

Thinking fast, he pulled the emergency brake and brought the entire train to a screeching halt at the station. Staff scoured the area looking for the dead or seriously injured jumper but were surprised to find nothing. Not even a speck of blood on the train or tracks. It was as if the man had vanished.

▼ Not many places to hide in front of one of these things

Wikipedia/Rsa

The stoppage and ensuing search resulted in a one hour delay on the Chuo Line and is said to have affected roughly 37,000 passengers. A JR rep told media that they are certain a man had jumped based on the driver’s testimony. However, they said they cannot comment on any possible surveillance camera footage of the incident.

Readers of the news online are leaning towards a paranormal event or divine intervention.

“I guess he was instantly reincarnated.”
“He left this world.”
“Maybe it was a secret military training exercise.”
“They can’t comment on the cameras? What are they hiding?”
“It was probably the ghost of someone who had jumped from there before.”
“Maybe the train hit him so hard he vaporized.”

Some also noticed similarities to the manga series Gantz in which people who get hit by a train are instantly summoned to participate in a violent and sexy alien assassination game.

It wouldn’t be the first time either. A few years ago an incident occurred in Osaka when a woman suddenly rushed into a station and jumped in front of a train. However, when the train had come to a stop, she emerged completely unscathed and ran away without ever being identified.

But in this particular incident, the fact that JR is being very coy about what happened suggests two possible things. Either something so shockingly bizarre and fantastical occurred that revealing footage of it to the public would undo the very fabric of society, or the company doesn’t want to admit that their driver might have been feeling a little tired and could have been seeing things while operating a train.

I think the answer is obvious, and next time I’m standing on a train platform I’ll be sure to keep some holy water and prayer beads on me, just in case.

Source: Asahi Shimbun, Huffington Post Japan, Golden News
Top Image: Wikipedia/Ten-nen Gas

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