Man seriously injured after 'accidentally' falling onto tracks at Twickenham station after Rugby World Cup opening match

Crowds: rugby fans at Twickenham station
PA
Rachel Blundy19 September 2015

A man was seriously injured after he "accidentally" fell onto railway tracks at Twickenham station as thousands of England rugby fans were making their way home from their team's opening clash in the World Cup.

The victim, whose age is not yet known, suffered head and leg injuries after falling from platform three at about 11pm last night. He was taken to West Middlesex Hospital for treatment.

Police were today investigating what they believe was an accident at the station in south west London.

Trains were delayed for about two-and-a-half hours after the emergency services attended the scene and temporarily closed the station.

Before the match: fans at Twickenham station
PA

Some of those attempting to get home said the situation was "chaos".

About 82,000 people attended the first match of the Rugby World CUp tournament at Twickenham stadium, to see hosts England beat Fiji.

Photographs posted on social media showed large crowds at both Twickenham and neighbouring Richmond stations as people attempted to leave the area.

Jack Fryer tweeted: "Completely stranded at Twickenham. Travel chaos. Taking refuge in hostelry. Medieval stuff."

Another man described the scenes at the station as "ridiculous", saying that he walked two miles to Richmond station as an alternative to get back to east London.

Mark Goodrich called for improvements at Twickenham station, which is expected to see huge crowds during the course of the tournament.

Rugby World Cup 2015: England fans at Twickenham

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He said: "Good to hear that tonight's incident at Twickenham station after RWC2015 not fatal. Infrastructure badly needs overhaul."

A spokeswoman for the South West Trains - Network Rail Alliance apologised for the disruption passengers faced, adding: "Our immediate thoughts are for the welfare of the person involved."

A spokeswoman for BTP said: "The man was struck by the train (10.33pm Windsor to Waterloo service), which was slowing down to come into the station, and suffered head and leg injuries as a result of the incident."

She added: "At this stage it is unclear exactly how the man came to fall onto the tracks, though early indications suggest it was an accident, and officers are now working to determine the full circumstances."

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