Tube Passengers Ignore Man Collapsed On Floor

Video footage shows a man who collapsed unconscious on the floor of a busy London tube train apparently being ignored for several minutes by fellow passengers.

A member of the public, who claimed he was unable to help, filmed the incident on his mobile phone and later uploaded the footage to YouTube.

In the video the man can be seen clutching onto a handrail before his legs suddenly give way and he collapses in a heap on the floor of the train.

He lies there for several minutes and is ignored by the other passengers, apart from one woman who appears to pull the train emergency alarm.

When the train stops at the station he is guarded by tube staff, but is not put in the recovery position.

The incident took place at approximately 12.40pm on Wednesday on a train travelling towards Great Portland Street.

Transport for London told Sky News that TfL staff had received basic medical training but the man was not put in the recovery position because they were requesting an ambulance.

Staff had "checked the customer was breathing", a spokeswoman added.

"It is distressing to see a passenger fall ill and in this case the member of staff responding needed to request more advanced medical support than the basic training that all our staff receive," she said.

"He immediately requested an ambulance then made an announcement to ask whether there was anyone with professional medical expertise and began to clear the train of passengers.

"Medically trained British Transport Police officers, who were brought to the Tube network earlier this year to improve our response to this sort of incident, arrived quickly to assist Tube staff who remained on the scene at all times."

But the video provoked an angry reaction from YouTube viewers and Twitter users.

One tweeted: "Passengers and train staff do nothing and step over him! Disgusting!" While another commented: "That makes me feel sick. Man collapses on Tube and people walk over him."

One poster on YouTube commented: "The London transport staff are shameful they have a duty of care for their customers . It's obvious that the whole organisation needs to look at their training."

The London Ambulance Service, who later gave medical assistance to the man, said he was diabetic and had passed out due to a lack of insulin.