Police say an intoxicated German man - who ducked out of a train for a cigarette - is under investigation for dangerous interference with rail traffic.
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He attempted to jump back on board between two cars after the train departed without him.
Authorities said the 33-year-old clung on to the machinery during frigid temperatures and screamed as the train headed toward Hamburg at speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour.
Passengers heard the man's cries and called for an emergency stop, which allowed for him to be rescued and brought inside safely.
According to authorities, he was handed over to them at the main station in Essen and was ''unmistakably informed by the federal police about the mortal danger he had been in''.