Jackson

Floodwaters had destroyed the ground beneath a railway track. A train carrying more than 2,000 passengers was approaching and two men had only a red scarf to stop it. August 20, 2017. Tangail, Bangladesh. Balaram Rajbangshi was heading to his fish shop when he noticed something terrifying. Floodwater had washed away earth beneath the railway tracks near a bridge. A train crossing that section could derail. And the Nilsagar Express was approaching. Balaram alerted his friend Nayeb Ali and other local residents. They knew the train was due within minutes. There was no time to wait for railway officials. So they found a red scarf, tied it to a bamboo pole, and began waving it frantically toward the approaching train. The locomotive was roughly 500 metres away when they signalled. The driver saw them. He applied the brakes. The train stopped before reaching the damaged section. More than 2,000 passengers were reportedly aboard. Most had no idea how close their journey had come to disaster. There were no sophisticated warning systems involved. Just two ordinary men, a piece of red cloth, and the courage to act before it was too late. Sometimes, saving thousands of lives begins with noticing something everyone else missed. Would you have known what to do in their situation?