Video: Youths risk death playing 'chicken' on NY subway tracks

A video showing youths playing a dangerous game of "chicken" on New York subway has been posted online. New York's transport authority condemned the youths warning that statistics show an increase in number of people hit by trains in recent years.

The video shows a group of five young people jumping on the rails at a station as a train approaches. MSNBC reports the incident happened at a stop in Brooklyn. While the boys risked their lives needlessly, a crowd of their friends and other onlookers cheered them on. Two of the five were particularly suicidal in behaviour. Unlike their colleagues, they waited till the train was in sight before climbing back on the platform. One of the boys missed being run over by an approaching train only narrowly. The video shows an elderly woman screaming at him while another person at the scene turns and walks away to avoid witnessing a fatal conclusion of the "game." MSNBC reports that the transport authority states that hundreds of people are seriously injured in subway train accidents every year. An MTA spokesman said: "Playing on or near subway tracks is one of the most dangerous things anyone can do. And while you can't outlaw stupidity you have to remember that 146 people were struck by subway trains last year and 47 of them died as a result." The spokesman added: "The individuals depicted in this video should be taken into custody and then they should have their heads examined.” Daily Mail reports the MTA has passed the video to the police for identification and arrest of the youths for reckless behavior. Daily Mail reports that MTA statistics show 147 people were hit in 2011 compared to 128 in 2010. A third of the victims died.