A 48-year old Montreal woman died yesterday after her hair got caught in a Metro station escalator while trying to retrieve a scarf.
The incident, which occurred around 9:15 a.m. Thursday, happened at an unsupervised automatic entrance to the blue line at the Fabre Metro station in Montreal, according to CBC News.
While trying to retrieve her scarf that was tangled in the escalator, the woman’s hair got caught in the escalator as well, according to local police. Other Metro riders tried to assist the woman, who was partially on the escalator and partially on the floor. The woman was unconscious and breathing, according to witnesses.
When paramedics arrived, the woman was already in cardiac arrest, and was declared dead at the scene.
A police spokesman said the woman was strangled to death.
The Société de transport de Montréal refused to give comment, but said all escalators were up to code.
The STM also said that they believed Thursday’s fatal incident was the first of its kind (in that it was fatal). In Quebec, escalators are required by law to have a feature that allows them to automatically shut down if enough pressure is exerted on the machinery.