In a heart-stopping incident, Mattia Aguzzi, a 37-year-old banker from Turin, Italy, saved the life of a toddler by catching her as she fell from a fifth-floor balcony. On his way to a local bakery with his girlfriend around 11 a.m. Saturday, Aguzzi was alerted by distressing screams coming from an apartment building.
Broadcasting the event on CNN’s Sky24, Aguzzi described the horrific scene. A small child, barely three years old, teetered perilously over the edge of a balcony with only her arms to support her. Despite her desperate attempts to communicate with the boy, she continued to lean in, eventually losing control.
Acting only on instinct, Aguzzi positioned himself beneath her, ready to intercept the fall. “When he plummeted, I braced myself, closing my eyes and hoping for the best. We both ended up on the ground after I cushioned his fall,” he explained. Fortunately, the child soon began to cry, indicating that she was alive.
Turin Mayor Stefano Lo Russo celebrated Aguzzi’s courage and described his actions as “heroic and extraordinary” in a Facebook post. Parliamentarian Camilla Laureti joined the chorus of praise, suggesting that Aguzzi receive the Gold Medal for Civil Valor, while Prime Minister Meloni expressed her gratitude on social platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
However, the humble banker downplayed his heroics, stating: “Don’t call me a hero. Everything I did was instinctive.” He humorously added that his added weight proved beneficial in this situation, concluding: “Fate brought us to that moment. Now we are all safe, and this is truly the most wonderful outcome.”
This article is sourced from and written by AI.
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