Nail-biting moment commuters save man passed out on subway tracks captured on camera

Police say the 50-year-old man slid himself onto the tracks

Commuters in New York City had a terrifying start to their day when they were forced to stop an approaching train from running over a man who had passed out on the subway tracks.

Video captured by one of the commuters shows a man lying unconscious on the snow-covered tracks at a Brooklyn subway station. Onlookers scream and try to wake the man before they notice a train coming in their direction.

“Sir? Sir please wake up!” an increasingly panicked commuter screams.

The train eventually stopped, and the good Samaritans jumped onto the tracks and pulled the man to safety.

The 50-year-old man appeared to have slid himself onto the subway tracks, according to police who responded to the scene. He suffered bruising to the side of his face and was taken to Kings County Hospital in stable condition, NYPD Public Information Officer Ahmed Nassir told The Independent.

Liliana Vincente, a local daycare worker, told CBS she was one of the people who intervened. When she saw the train’s headlights approaching, she dropped her belongings and waved frantically for it to stop. When it did, she immediately leapt onto the tracks to save the man.

Ms Vicente said the man seemed confused when he came to on the subway platform.

“He didn’t even realise he’s unconscious. He was like, ‘I want to go home',” she said.

More than 160 people were hit by subway trains in 2016, and 48 were killed, according to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The numbers were the lowest in five years, partially thanks to public awareness programmes launched by the MTA.