A feat that moves the whole of Italy. As reported by Sky 24 in an article spotted by Ouest-France, an Italian banker managed to catch a 4-year-old girl who had just fallen from the balcony of the family apartment, located on the fifth floor of a building in Turin , Saturday, August 26. Erected as a hero, this 37-year-old man could soon be decorated after his gesture of bravery.
The incident took place around 11 a.m. While on his way to a bakery in central Turin with his girlfriend, Mattia Aguzzi was alerted by shouts coming from a street window. It was then that he saw on the top floor of the building, a little girl playing on the balcony of her parents’ apartment. “The little girl kept leaning more and more and climbing over the ledge, she was only holding on with two arms and her legs were in the air,” testified the banker.
“I started yelling at her to stay still and go back inside, but she didn’t hear,” he continued. Mattia Aguzzi therefore decides to position herself below her to receive her, seeing that she was about to fall. “I closed my eyes and hoped for the best, I blocked her, cushioning the blow and we both fell to the ground,” he told Sky 24. if the girl was “well”, she was transported to the hospital to be examined, while the parents looked on “in shock”.
This miraculous rescue was widely praised on social media by the Italian population of political figures. “The action of […] our fellow citizen who, this morning […] saved the life of the little girl who fell from the fifth floor, is a heroic and extraordinary gesture”, particularly congratulated the mayor of the city, Stefano Lo Russo , in a press release. He further requested that the “hero” be “honored”.
“The story of a little girl who fell from the 5th floor of a balcony of a building in Turin could have turned into a tragedy. But thanks to the promptness of Mattia Aguzzi, who saw her fall and caught her in flight, she was saved. Honor and recognition to this young hero,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The story of a little girl who fell from the 5th floor of a balcony in a building in Turin could have turned into tragedy. But thanks to the promptness of Mattia Aguzzi, who saw her fall and grabbed her in the air, her life is saved. Much honor and gratitude to this young hero. pic.twitter.com/B6yzkEYZan
Monday, two days after the events, Mattia Aguzzi went to the hospital to meet the little girl’s family, reports the Italian daily La Repubblica. “I’m happy to know that she is well,” said the new national hero.
