Woman pushed onto metro track, train stops just in time
Images have emerged showing how a woman was pushed onto the track at metro station Rogier in Brussels last night. The incident happened shortly before 8PM on Friday evening. A man pushed the woman on purpose. The train arriving executed an emergency stop and managed to come to a halt before hitting the unfortunate woman. The perpetrator fled the scene but is now in custody.
The Brussels local transport company MIVB has confirmed the incident that happened as a train was about the stop at the platform. The images come from a security camera.
The train driver managed to stop just in time. Members of the public on the platform rushed to the woman’s assistance.
“The driver put on the brakes when he saw the woman on the track and stopped in time” says An Van hamme of the MIVB.
The perpetrator was not wearing the mandatory mask and was easy to identify. A 23-year-old Frenchman has been arrested and faces charges of attempted manslaughter. Prosecutors are investigating what exactly happened and hope to establish a motive and whether victim and perpetrator were known to each other, which is thought unlikely. The suspect is not believed to possess an address in Belgium. He has form in France. The victim is a 55-year-old woman.
Sarah Durant of the prosecutor's office described the driver stopping the train in time as an 'heroic deed'. Driver and victim were taken to hospital but both soon discharged.
The perpetrator fled the scene by crossing the track. His picture was disseminated and he could be arrested at the De Brouckère station within minutes.
The incident halted metro between Elisabeth and Kunst-Wet till 8:15PM.
