A 70-year-old Russian woman was blown off her balcony when she went out to smoke a cigarette. She landed in a pile of snow and was later taken to hospital in the bucket of a truck, after an ambulance couldn’t reach the area.

The incident took place amid gale-force winds that have been buffeting Sakhalin, Far East Russia, since early Monday. The elderly woman from the town of Shakhtyorsk decided to go out to smoke on her balcony on the fourth floor of the five-story apartment building, local media reports. However, a powerful gust blew her off the balcony right into a snowdrift. The snow apparently saved the woman’s life.

An ambulance rushed to help the woman, however it couldn’t reach the scene due to heavy snowfall.

Medics then resorted to drastic action, putting the patient into the bucket of a construction truck and delivered her to hospital.

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The woman broke an arm and several ribs, and also suffered a concussion, according to local media. Local news website Uglegorskiye Novosti released a video showing the snowy area where the incident took place.