Italian man saves the day by catching toddler falling from fifth floor balcony
Mattia Aguzzi is being hailed as a hero across Italy after saving the toddler
An Italian man is being hailed as a hero and miracle worker after he saved a toddler by catching her after she fell from the fifth floor of a building in central Turin on Saturday (August 26).
Mattia Aguzzi, the 37-year-old banker, was on his way to a bread shop, alongside his girlfriend in the morning when he heard a commotion, with a man yelling for help from the apartment.
“I went out with my girlfriend to buy bread and we heard screams from a building that caught our attention,"Aguzzi was quoted as saying by Sky24.
“I heard a man scream when he saw the little girl leaning out on the ledge. The little girl kept leaning more and more and climbed over the ledge, she held on only with two arms and her legs were in the air,” he said.
Aguzzi, acting on his instinct, started shoutingso as to catch the attention of the three-year-old. However, owing to the distance, the baby didn't hear him as Aguzzistarted preparing for, perhaps, the most dangerous scenario - catching the baby mid-air.
“I started yelling at her to stay still and to go back inside but she didn’t hear. When I saw her fall I stepped in the way, closed my eyes and hoped that everything was going to be for the best, I blocked her by cushioning the blow and we were both fell to the ground,” he said.
“Initially I didn’t feel any sign of life, then the baby started crying and I breathed a sigh of relief,” added Aguzzi.
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Meloni commends Aguzzi
The newsofAguzzi's heroics instantly went viral on social media as Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to officially recognise the banker.
“The story of a little girl who fell from a fith floor 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,” she wrote on X on Sunday.
Despite being swarmed by a plethora of well-wishes,Aguzzi continues to maintain he isn't a hero.
“Don’t call me a hero. I did everything so naturally. I didn’t think of anything and tried to do what had to be done,” said Aguzzi.
The banker also saw the funny side of things when he said: "And in any case now they won’t tell me anymore that it’s better if I lose a little weight. It went well. What more could we want? Destiny put us there. Chance, fate. As far as I know, we’re all fine. And this, believe me, is the most beautiful thing.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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