TORONTO – Emergency responders have started to rescue upwards of 1,400 people stuck on a GO Train near Bayview Avenue and Pottery Road.
The train was on its way to Richmond Hill when it got stuck in high waters near the Bayview extension just after 5:30 p.m. Monday evening.
People crowded the top floor of the train, avoiding the flooded lower levels.
GO train. Flooded. Help? pic.twitter.com/4yevfRuUxa
— Jaime Ho (@jaime_of_wicked) July 8, 2013
One commuter, Hilette, said in a telephone interview that the train was in pitch black, there was no water, no air conditioning and some people were getting sick.
“People are crowding in certain areas because the water is rushing through it. People are getting sick,” she said. “And the fact that we don’t know what’s going on adds to the anxiety level.”
Hilette said the train stopped around 5:30 p.m. shortly after leaving Union Station for Richmond Hill. She said, at the time, Go Transit officials said they would be turning back to Union Station but roughly a half hour later, said the train was surrounded by water and they would be stuck for “the near future.”
But the stranded commuters are keeping their spirits up, she said, and keeping their minds off their situation.
Travers Chow, another passenger stuck on the train, told Global News in an email that people were opening up the windows as it was getting stuffy.
“At first they only allowed us to open one window per car. But that did not work,” Chow said.
Watch: Raw video of people being rescued from the flooded GO Train.
Emergency Crews started rescuing stranded passengers around 9:30 p.m.. Toronto Police spokesperson Constable Wendy Drummond wrote on Twitter that police were prioritizing people on board the train with medical issues.
“Some kids were on board. One had asthma so he was one of the first off the train. There was a pregnant lady on my train who was also evacuated,” Chow said.
A large storm that swept through the area just before rush hour on Monday caused halted the TTC’s subway services and caused flooding throughout the city.
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