For most members of the public, risking their own life to save others from imminent death might be a once-in-a-lifetime event – but not Micha Horgan.

Three years ago, the young hero and his pal made headlines in the Gazette when they jumped in the sea in India to save a boatload of drowning people after their vessel sunk. And last week the 23-year-old narrowly avoided being crushed by an Overground train himself, when he rescued a drunken man who had jumped onto the tracks at Hackney Central on November 3.

Witness Clothilde Lamare, 31, one of the distressed bystanders, told the Gazette: “I heard the train coming and I was screaming like a crazy woman. I thought I was about to see a man be killed by a train and I was in tears, shaking in complete shock. Micha was a real hero.”

Micha described how everyone on the platform had been shouting at the man to step out the way: “We all saw the train coming, but he kept edging towards it and was in the line of the train,” he said.

“He ended up stumbling and was literally just about close enough for me to reach out from the platform edge. I grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and yanked him up to the platform. There were only a few seconds in it.”

Although the driver had slammed his foot down on the brakes the train stopped past where the man had been standing, Micha pointed out the man who would “almost definitely” have been killed.

“He was only a little lad, otherwise it would have been a bit trickier to pull him up,” he said. “I don’t think normally I could have done it if there wasn’t so much adrenaline. I realised afterwards when I was restraining him and he was trying to hit me that he was homeless, emaciated and clearly very drunk.”

Another witness Matt Fielden added: “It was a good thing someone acted because a lot of people weren’t acting, and I was impressed with Micha’s thought and bravery when things could have gone horrifically wrong for either party. I was also impressed with how calm Micha remained even after – his hands were slightly trembling but other than that he was remarkably calm. It clearly shows that Micha is a very brave man who is wiling to act in the best interests of other people selflessly.”

Police are investigating.