It could have been a tragedy, but the experience and instinct of two Coopservice employees managed to avoid it in extremis.

12.30 today. Betty and Stefano, both from Sassari, are engaged in their guardianship work at the San Pietro di Sassari hospital. A man comes in and kindly asks to go up to hematology. On the sixth floor. He gets the ok, puts on the mask and goes up. After 3 minutes Betty thinks back to that man. There was something strange about his air. Call Stefano and they decide to check. They climb the stairs and quickly search each floor. They come to the fifth. And they notice a man on the edge of the fire escape railing. His intent is clear: he wants to throw himself under.

Betty and Stefano don't think twice. They shoot in unison and manage to grab the man in extremis, an unemployed 45-year-old from Sassari. The grip is iron and they keep him safe. They talk to him, try to calm him down. The man is in despair, without work or money. But then he calms down. There are also some obs. That put the poor guy at ease.

«It only took a few seconds and he would have jumped in», says one of them, «Betty and Stefano were really good. We are proud of them." The man then returned home, with the police aware of the facts. Now it will be up to social services to take care of him.

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