Man freed by firefighters after getting stuck under train armrest while looking for AirPod

Firefighters in Germany had to use hydraulic equipment to free a man who got stuck under a train armrest while searching for a dropped AirPod.

Emergency services were called to Lehrte station in north-central Germany on Friday evening following reports that a passenger was trapped, the local fire department said in a statement published Saturday.

"What initially looked like a fairly simple rescue then developed into a complex rescue operation, however, as the person's hand had swollen so much in the meantime that it could no longer be freed using simple rescue equipment," it said.

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Firefighters had to dismantle a luggage rack and seats, then saw through the armrest before using hydraulic equipment to free the man, who was stuck for around an hour and half in total, it added.

"The injured person was then handed over to the emergency services together with his AirPods, which had also been rescued," said the fire department, which noted that a total of 11 firefighters and two vehicles were used in the operation.

Police were also called to the scene because of what the fire department described as "unpleasant scenes" involving onlookers.

"In order to prevent the gawkers from taking pictures of the trapped person with their mobile phones, the operation area was not only cordoned off over a wide area, but the direct view was blocked by a rescue blanket attached to the outside of the train," the department said.

Because of the length of time taken to free the man, the train was evacuated and a replacement service took the remaining passengers on their onward journey, it added.