A man with no medical training managed to save a young woman’s life when both her legs were severed by a train and he managed to tie the protruding arteries of her legs into knots.

The woman was reportedly hoping to spend Sunday night under the stars with her boyfriend as they jumped onto a slow-moving freight train near Jonquière, northeast of Quebec City.

According to authorities, the 20-year-old woman lost her footing and fell under the wheels.

Local jeweller Roger Saulnier was walking his dog when he heard someone shouting for help.

He rushed to her side and saw two stumps gushing blood.

“I tried to plug the arteries, but they wouldn’t plug,” he said. “So I made knots in the arteries.”

Saulnier then saw a plastic bag lying nearby and his caregiving instinct kicked in.

“I ripped it in two . . . and made it like a cord. I wrapped them around her legs and tightened them.”

Saulnier said he has never received any medical training but his profession gave him something else he could rely on.

“My talent as a jeweller is I have agile fingers,” he said. “It’s fortunate I’m good with my hands. That’s how I was able to save her life.”

Saguenay police said Saulnier stayed calm until the arrival of medical help, who were stunned by what he had done.

“He did it rapidly, efficiently and using the right technique to avoid hemorrhaging,” said police spokesperson Bruno Cormier.

Authorities say the woman’s life is not in danger.

Saulnier also gave a news conference Monday during which he related the gory details of his heroic actions. Decked out in gold jewellery, and fidgeting excitedly, he admitted that tying a garbage bag was the only preparation he’d ever had for the manoeuvres he performed Sunday night.

“If I had taken part in a tourniquet competition I could have set a record for speed,” he said.

“I completely stopped the hemorrhaging in 30 seconds.”

Though he was initially calm at the scene, Saulnier was eventually taken to hospital to be treated for shock.

“I didn’t think about it at the time,” he said. “It happened so quickly.”

He said doctors have given him a prescription to help him sleep, but he doesn’t think it will do much good.

“I can’t close my eyes without seeing pieces of skin, torn leg and blood,” he said.