Death On Platform 10, Oslo S

My carefree existence was severely bruised today. I have never seen anyone die before, until today.

I had an exciting day ahead of me when I woke up this morning. I had a photo shoot at 1130 in Ski. I got up early to ready myself for this happy day of new experiences and got to the train station extra early. I wanted to be calm and in control of myself when I met this stranger who would take pictures of me.

I had some technical difficulties with buyng the ticket, but a young NSB employee came to the rescue. I said I want to catch the train that leaves 1103 to get to Ski. "Looks like your going to make it" he happily replied when i had the ticket in my hand. It was about 1057 as I rushed towards platform 10. I was relieved to see there was no train there yet. As I looked up at the information screen on the platform I saw a older gentleman in my peripheral vision; he was on crutches and leaning towards a railing awfully close to the tracks. I didn't think much of it, but I noticed him. He looked sad and helpless. I was standing about three meters away from him and I heard the train approaching. Fast, really fast. I heard a man behind me yell something, at the same time there was a loud thud; The man on the crutches was gone. The people around me and I where in mutual shock and disbelief. Was he ever really there?

I heard a girl scream suddenly and point to the ground where the old man had stood; there it was, his left crutch. The only prof of him ever standing there. I stared at the crutch and my whole body went cold. I started crying. I don't even know why i started crying. A woman next to me loudly struggled to remember the number to the ambulance while I kept staring at the crutch.

That image of that lonely crutch is now burned in my memory. I don't even remember what the elderly man looked like. Me and a handful other people where the last to see him alive. He spent his last moments with someone who wouldn't even recognize him if someone showed her a picture of him.

Because I had an appointment I needed to keep, I couldn't really do anything after we where herded away from the scene of the accident. I just stood in the middle of a curious crowd in the station. I could here them loudly complaining that NSB never is on time. This is true, but I felt sick. They didn't know what happened.

I finally boarded another train on a track next to where the accident happened. I didn't want to look, but I could see all the other passenger staring intently and silently towards the spot. I turned and looked. I could see that the police and rescue workers had put up a separator so we couldn't see from the train. I was relieved for a moment, but it wasn't big enough. I saw them all climb onto the platform from the track with a square plastic bag on a gurney. It was not long enough for a person and they got it from underneath the middle of the train. I felt sick.

We where herded off that train to. It couldn't leave for unknown reasons. I was told to go to platform 9 where a train would take me to Ski. Platform 9 and 10 are the same platform. Behind the police restrictions the elderly mans crutch was still on the ground where he had taken his last breath.

I had never seen anyone die before. Not like that. I hope he didn't suffer and that his family will be okay.

You might feel that this is insensitive of me, to post something like this on a blog; this blog has become a way for me to process events and emotions. This is an event that won't go unnoticed. I mean no harm by it and if it someone is offended by it I will delete the post.

Just, please don't stand at the edge of the platforms, the train can't stop.