FLORENCE, ITALY – An undocumented Moroccan immigrant on Friday saved the life of a 25-year-old French tourist who fell off a Florence bridge into the Arno river. The tourist explained he fell when he was taken ill after leaning out to snap photos.
Eyewitnesses and police who raced to scene applauded the 28-year-old rescuer, Toukif Chtouki, after he dove in to pluck the tourist from the murky Florentine waters.
The Moroccan national – who has reportedly been living in Italy for four years – was riding past on a bicycle when he noticed the tourist in distress. He then descended to the river’s edge and dove in after him.
“Toukif carried out an action of great valour and humanity that could have put his own life at risk,” Mayor Dario Nardella wrote on Facebook. “Thank you Toukif”.