Passengers were eventually allowed to climb down a ladder and walk along the track to a level crossing.

BBC: East Coast rail line disrupted by signal failure

Gary Taggart described seeing McElhill at an upstairs window but refusing to climb out and come down a ladder.

BBC: McElhill family

Quiet diplomacy and a cooling off period leading Beijing and Tokyo to hand each other a ladder to climb down might prove more helpful in averting some grave miscalculation over the divisive islets.

CNN: 'Abe II' on mission to redeem Japan and himself

So, my insider believes that having raised the possibility of war, "made everyone's flesh creep, and marched us up to the top of the mountain", the Israel leader is now looking for a "gilded ladder" to climb down.

BBC: Netanyahu gets tangled up in US election