By Meletus EZE
A tragedy was narrowly averted during a protest against coal mining in Germany when a train applied its emergency brakes to avoid two demonstrators who had chained themselves to the tracks.
The railcar almost ran over the two demonstrators, but the engine driver managed to bring it to a halt just 10 metres from them, a police spokesperson said on Monday.
The driver suffered shock after the incident.
Police detained at least 40 people who were taking part in the protest by the train tracks near Hambach Forest, an area of woodland earmarked for clearance by energy firm RWE for lignite-mining.
The activists mounted a blockade of the controversial lignite, or brown-coal, mine, occupying the rail line connecting the mine to factories.
RWE wants to clear 100 hectares of the last remaining 200 hectares of historic woodland to mine more lignite, which it says is urgently needed to keep its power stations running.
Environmentalists managed to halt the clearance temporarily by court order as the site is home to a protected species of bat.
This has not halted the protests, which are now focused on ending for good, the mining of lignite, a fossil fuel that emits greenhouse gases when burnt.
