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Published 18:53 IST, October 23rd 2019

Italian couple narrowly escapes house collapse, thanks to their cats

An Italian couple narrowly escaped a massive landslide that caused their entire house to collapse after being woken by their cats in the nick of time.

Reported by: Manogya Singh
null | Image: self

Two cats saved their owners from a landslide that caused their house to collapse. The cats woke the couple up, giving them time to analyse the situation and escape, said media reports. 

Saved in the nick of time

According to reports, the violent storms that lashed northern Italy killed a taxi driver and forcing dozens of people from their homes. Piana and his wife Sabrina Pellegrini had gone to bed at home in Campo Ligure on Monday night as fierce rains across the Liguria region saw rivers burst their banks, washed away a bridge and sparked landslides.
Read: Mysore: Landslide At Chamundi Hills; No Casualties Reported So Far

Claudio Piana told a global media agency that he and his wife woke up to the loud noises made by their cats Simba and Mose. On waking up they found the cats playing with a piece of plaster that had just fallen off the ceiling. They then noticed the cracks opening in the walls.

They immediately rushed out of the house,= into their car, but found themselves stuck in a thick sea of mud.

Read: Outsider Saied Set For Landslide In Tunisia Presidency: Exit Polls

No home to go back to

The couple was soon rescued by the firefighters. Piana informed that his brother had called him to inform that his house had collapsed due to the storm. A video of the two-storey house reduced to a pile of rubble was recently published on a media channel’s website. The disheartened couple said that they have nothing left, as they have no home to go back to as the house is completely demented.

Read: Landslide On Uttarkashi-Gangotri Highway; Road Blocked For 2 Hours

In another incident reported in August, a dog was hailed as a hero after it saved the lives of its owner and his son by risking his own. The dog had alerted the house's owner about the fire after which he and his son were able to escape the blaze unharmed. However, the pet got trapped inside the house and was rescued by firefighters just in the nick of time. 

Read: Kerala Floods: 1 Lakh People In Almost A Thousand Relief Camps, Landslides Claim Multiple Lives

Updated 19:48 IST, October 23rd 2019

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