Man drops cell phone in train toilet, jams arm
NEW YORK (Reuters) --Cell phone users have been known to complain about poor service, but one New York man's mobile literally went down the toilet.
The man was on a suburban train from Grand Central Station on Wednesday night when he went to the bathroom to make a phone call, dropped the phone into the toilet bowl and then his hand and arm became stuck trying to retrieve it, officials said.
Metro-North Railroad staff could not help the man, so they stopped the train and called police officers and firefighters to extricate him, a process that took 90 minutes using "jaws of life" rescue equipment.
"The toilets are made of aluminum so I imagine he was down on hands and knees with his shirt rolled up and hand and arm down inside, trying to flush out his cell phone," said Jim Cameron of the Connecticut Metro-North commuter council.
He said that because of the design of the train toilet, the mobile probably ended up in a chemical holding tank.
A spokesman for the railroad that serves the northern suburbs of New York and Connecticut identified the man as Edwin Gallard, 41, of New York, who suffered a minor injury to his arm as firefighters cut the toilet apart.
The track was closed and thousands of commuters were delayed during the evening rush hour.
The phone has not yet been recovered.
