A man who pushed a woman in front of an approaching train at a Brussels metro station on Friday January 14 has been detained on suspicion of attempted manslaughter, according to prosecutors.
The woman narrowly survived after the driver was able to pull the emergency brake just in time to avoid a fatal accident. In footage of the event, she can be seen with her head on the tracks as the train comes to a halt in front of her.
In a statement given to CNN, the Brussels public prosecutor’s office confirmed that police had been called to the Rogier metro station around 7:45 p.m. local time because “a young man had pushed a woman onto the metro tracks.”
A man pushed a woman onto the tracks of a Brussels metro station on Friday. The train driver was able to pull the emergency brake in time to avoid a fatal accident.
When the police arrived, they determined that the victim had already been rescued by witnesses. According to the public prosecutor’s office, rescue services attended to both the victim and the metro driver and they received hospital treatment before being discharged.
“It appears that a young man, after walking back and forth on the platform, pushed a woman on the metro tracks as a metro was approaching the station,” the public prosecutor’s office said. “The driver, warned by other people on the platform, was able to stop the metro before it hit the victim. Thanks to the quick intervention of the metro driver, not a single passenger in the metro was injured.”
The public prosecutor’s office said that the assailant fled along the tracks after the train stopped but was intercepted a few minutes later at the Brouckere station.
After questioning by the police, the suspect was then placed in the custody of the Brussels public prosecutor, who is seeking a charge of attempted manslaughter, according to the statement.
The public prosecutor’s office said that “the investigation is still ongoing to determine the exact circumstances of the events and the motive of the suspect.”
