A Spanish policeman was on Tuesday hailed a hero after a dramatic security video captured him rescuing a woman who fell onto the tracks of the Madrid subway system moments before a train arrived.
The 38-year-old officer, who was identified only by his first name, Ruben, leapt to the woman’s rescue early on Monday afternoon at the Marques Vadillo station in southwestern Madrid.
A security video released by police showed the 52-year-old woman holding a shopping bag and standing behind the yellow line along the tracks, her handbag on the ground in front of her.
Suddenly, she collapsed forwards, still holding the shopping bag, and tumbled down onto the rails.
Half a dozen fellow passengers crowded around the platform above her but none dared to descend.
Then the off-duty policeman on the same platform leapt down to the tracks, ran towards her and picked her up just as a train was coming into the station.