Tabloid photo of subway death causes a storm

A New York Post front page photo of a man about to be hit by an oncoming subway train provoked fury yesterday from readers wondering why nobody, including the photographer, didn't pull the victim to safety - and why the tabloid published the image.

Police say the victim was thrown onto the tracks during a fight on Monday with a deranged man in a Manhattan subway station. He then staggered to his feet and tried, but failed to get out the way of a train, which killed him - in full view of a crowd of passengers.

One of those bystanders was a freelance photographer from the Post who managed to take a series of photos, including the one occupying the whole front page yesterday under the headline: "Pushed on the subway track, this man is about to die."

In a video report on the story, the Post appeared to suggest that the photo and two others in a double spread inside the newspaper, were unintentional byproducts of the photographer's rescue attempt.

"Not being strong enough to physically lift the victim himself the photographer used the only resources available to him and began rapidly flashing his camera to signal the train conductor to stop," the report said.

But readers quickly slammed the Post's photographer and editors for what they saw as a callous attitude to the bloody tragedy.