An Ottawa Woman Was Rescued From The LRT Tracks Just Moments Before A Train Arrived

It was a drama-filled commute for passengers at Rideau Station on Wednesday evening, after an elderly woman had to be rescued after falling onto the LRT tracks. Thankfully, a staff member was able to hoist the woman to safety, just moments before the train pulled into the station. The dramatic Ottawa LRT rescue was caught on video by a passer-by, and the incident looks pretty terrifying.

Things could have easily been a lot, lot worse for an elderly woman at Rideau Station in Ottawa on Wednesday, after she accidentally fell onto the LRT train tracks, just moments before a train was due to come into the station. The incident occurred on the westbound side of the station at around 5:30 p.m., one of the busiest times of day on the new LRT.

Luckily, two men were able to grab the woman and drag her to safety, probably saving her life. According to a report from the Ottawa Citizen, one of the men was an employee of OC Transpo and the other was simply a passer-by. They managed to lift the woman to safety just 10 seconds before the train pulled in.

Sharing a video of the incident on Twitter, a witness explained, “A woman fell onto the tracks. I want to say that the bystander and the OC Transpo volunteer who jumped to her aid are heroes as the train pulled up like a minute or less later. It could have been tragic but it wasn't.”

According to a report from CTV News, a bystander immediately jumped from the platform to help the woman, who had unexpectedly tumbled onto the tracks.

Moments later, an employee from OC Transpo joined the rescue effort, and the pair were able to pull the elderly Ottawa woman to safety with just seconds to spare.

Troy Charter, the director of transit operation at OC Transpo, confirmed the incident on Wednesday evening but was unable to say if the woman tripped, fainted, or suffered a medical emergency.

“An individual fell on the tracks at Rideau Station,” Charter confirmed. He explained, “The O-Train ambassador and other passengers assisted and the individual was pulled from the tracks.”