Japanese commuters band together to push train, save woman

Dozens of Japanese train passengers pushed a 32-ton train carriage away from the platform to free a woman who had fallen into the 20-centimetre gap between the train and platform.

The act of heroism was captured by a newspaper photographer.

A public announcement that a passenger was trapped prompted about 40 people to join train officials to push the carriage, whose suspension system allows it to lean to either side, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.

The unnamed woman in her 30s was then pulled out uninjured to applause from onlookers at JR Minami-Urawa station, just north of Tokyo.

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

A photo of the rescue ran in the Yomiuri's evening edition.