Chilling moment man creeps up on woman and shoves her off Brussels metro platform into path of train - but it stops just inches from her after slamming on brakes

This is the chilling moment a man crept up behind a woman and shoved her off a metro platform into the path of a train which stopped inches from her after slamming on its brakes in Brussels.

CCTV footage shows the man prowling behind the woman as she waits for the train before reaching out and pushing her onto the tracks as the metro pulls into the station. 

The 55-year-old victim is unable to stop herself falling on the tracks and appears to land face first in front of the train.

The metro driver was able to pull the emergency brake in time to avoid a fatal accident, Brussel’s public prosecutors office said.  

The 23-year-old suspect, who was not named, was arrested for attempted murder after the incident at the Rogier underground station on the evening of January 14. 

The woman was not reported to have suffered any serious injuries and was taken to hospital in shock.

CCTV footage shows the man prowling behind the woman as she waits for the train before reaching out and pushing her onto the tracks as the metro pulls into the station

The 55-year-old victim is unable to stop herself falling on the tracks and appears to land face first in front of the train as it arrives in the station

An Van hamme, spokesperson for the Brussels transport company STIB, said: ‘The metro driver was able to brake just in time and thereby avoid a collision. 

‘Our metro driver was also in shock and had to go to hospital.’

Local media said the suspect was beaten by an outraged passenger and fell on the tracks.

CCTV footage showed the woman landing face first on the tracks at Brussels’s Rogier underground station on the evening of January 14

The metro driver was able to pull the emergency brake in time to avoid a fatal accident, Brussel’s public prosecutors office said

Sarah Durant of the Brussels public prosecutor’s office said on January 15: ‘The perpetrator crossed the tracks and then fled through one of the exits of the metro station.

‘Thanks to the police’s dissemination of the suspect’s images, he was intercepted a few minutes later while he was at De Brouckere metro station.’

The suspect was questioned by the investigation judge and detained. The judge also appointed a psychiatrist to evaluate his mental wellbeing, the prosecutors office said. 

It added prosecutors could not comment further on an ongoing investigation into the incident, but added the suspect was arrested under suspicion of attempted murder.