Dozens help lift Berlin bus to free teenager trapped under vehicle

A teenager trapped under a bus in Berlin has survived with minor injuries after 40 heroic members of the public joined forces to lift the vehicle.

The 18-year-old was trapped by a rear axle tire when he fell while running to catch up with the bus as it pulled away from a stop Monday afternoon, said the police.

The bus driver immediately stopped and, with the help of around 40 people, including passengers and bystanders, managed to lift the right side of the bus high enough to allow the teenager to escape .

“It was chaos,” Frank Kurze, one of the volunteer rescuers, told the AP news agency. “I saw the men trying to lift the bus, and it was clear to me that I also had to help lift the bus and try to pull the young man out from under it. »

Surgeons and nurses from a medical center near the bus stop in Berlin's Spandau district rushed to the scene to provide first aid.

“We were at work when we heard screaming, and our boss looked out the window and saw what happened, and said, 'Grab the doctor's bag and run,'” said Michelle Rueckborn, one of the nurses who responded.

The man suffered scratches, bruises and an arm injury, police said.

“He was responsive but very perplexed and didn't know what was going on,” said Sandra Grunwald, another nurse.

The injured man was taken to hospital, where he underwent surgery. German news channel n-tv reported that he had been released, but Berlin police said they had no further information on his condition.

Berlin police were investigating how he ended up under the bus. They said they were impressed by the collective rescue action and hailed those who took part as “heroes”.

“Thank you Spandau, thank you Berlin,” the police wrote on Twitter.

Ms Grunwald told n-tv that the concern shared by so many people gave her a good feeling.

“I think it’s good that we can still more or less trust society,” she said.