An elderly man who was killed after reportedly jumping on to a railway line to try to save the life of a woman has been hailed a "hero".
The victim, who is believed to be aged 74 and from the Canterbury area, died after being struck near Chartham railway station in Kent at around 11am on Tuesday, British Transport Police (BTP) said.
According to reports, he had been trying to help a 38-year-old woman, also from Canterbury, who had jumped on to the tracks from a bridge.
She survived but he was killed after being hit by the Ramsgate to Charing Cross service.
Michael Kember, 44, who witnessed the tragedy said the man was a "hero".
Mr Kember, who was waiting on a platform for another train, told Kent Online: "The lady had been on the bridge over the line and then jumped off it, landing right between the rails where she was lying parallel between them.
"The man then jumped down and was trying to get her off.
"While he was doing that you could hear the electric rail buzzing, meaning that the train was coming.
"You could hear the driver was sounding the horn and the brakes of the train were squealing.
"The man couldn't get her off and he was then trying to get to the end of the platform but did not make it, and that was when the accident happened.
"The bloke was a hero."
The woman was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.
A BTP spokesman said the incident was not being treated as suspicious.
He said: "Shortly before 10.55am on Tuesday, 16 June, our officers were called to the line near to Chartham rail station following reports of a person having been struck by a train.
"BTP officers attended, alongside colleagues from Kent Police and South East Coast Ambulance Service, and discovered two people - a man in his 70s and a woman in her 30s - had been struck by a train.
"Sadly, the man died as a result of his injuries. The woman was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital, where she remains in a serious but stable condition.
"Both families have been informed. The incident is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner."
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