Woman, 55, left clinging for her life 22 feet in the air the moment railroad bridge started to lift as she crossed it during charity breast cancer walk

A 55-year-old Dania Beach woman got stuck on a railroad bridge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this morning when it started to lift up



The woman clung to the sides of the two tracks while witnesses called emergency crews to rescue her

Firefighters safely brought the woman down using a 24-foot ladder

A woman in Fort Lauderdale, Florida got stuck on a railroad bridge today, and had to be rescued by local firefighters.



The 55-year-old Dania Beach woman was crossing the New River using a railroad bridge, when the bridge unexpectedly started to lift up.



As the bridge started to rise, the woman held on to the sides of the two tracks to remain aloft.

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Between two tracks: 55-year-old Wanda mcGowan got stuck on a railroad bridge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this morning when it started to rise Safe now: When firefighters arrived, they deployed a 24-foot ladder to rescue the woman who was about 22 feet in the air. A city official says she was uninjured

Several witnesses were at the scene and called for emergency help. The bystanders also whipped out their phones to take a picture of the rare sight. The woman was wearing all pink and later told police that she had participated in a breast cancer walk earlier that morning at nearby Huizenga Plaza.



'She was just in this Jesus Chris position,' witness Phillip Glazebrook told the Sun-Sentinel . 'The woman was frozen and terrified. I'm sure she must have been in absolute shock to be stuck in that position.'

Mr Glazebrook wasn't surprised that the crowd took out their phones to document the incident.



'It was like watching an accident on 1-95, rubbernecking,' he said. 'She's stuck up there and they're just taking photos and videos.'



A Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue crew responded at 10:44am and they were able to safely rescue her.



Firefighters used a 24-foot ladder to rescue the woman, who was approximately 22 feet in the air.



Witnesses said it took about 20 minutes for crews to get her safely down.



'To tell you the truth, honestly I thought it was probably like a stunt or something, it was just that unbelievable,' witness Ashanicka Powell told NBC Miami . 'I really didn't think she honestly was trapped up there at first.'



'They harnessed the ladder up against the actual tracks and a firefighter went and got her and we were all clapping, we were just amazed' Ms Powell said.



River crossings: Above, the railroad bridge where the woman got stuck is circled in red (coincidentally raised). To the left of the railroad crossing, a nearby pedestrian crossing is visible

It is still unknown why the woman was crossing the railroad bridge, instead of using the nearby Andrews Avenue pedestrian crossing.

Mr Glazebrook hypothesizes that she might have walked out onto the bridge to take a picture.



While the woman was frightened, a city official says she was uninjured.



Others have not been so lucky on the bridge. In December 2010 two Lynn University soccer players were crossing the bridge on their way to a party when it started to lift.

