Act of heroism: Commuters work together to free a woman in Japan (Picture: AP)

Rush hour commuters joined forces to help free a woman who had fallen on to a set of train tracks at a station in Japan.

Around 40 passengers teamed up to push a 32-tonne train carriage away from the platform edge before dragging the woman to safety.

The incident happened during the busy morning rush hour on Monday when the unidentified commuter fell into the 20cm gap between the train and platform edge.

A public announcement that a passenger was trapped prompted dozens of people to join train officials to push the carriage, which has a suspension system that allows it to lean to either side.




The act of heroism at JR Minami-Urawa station, just north of Tokyo, was captured by a newspaper photographer and featured in the Yomiuri newspaper, Japan’s largest daily.

The woman in her 30s was pulled out with no major injuries to applause from onlookers.

After just an eight-minute delay, the train went on its way.