A pregnant woman was seriously injured after a Rottweiler fell from a balcony (Picture: Getty/Shutterstock)
A pregnant woman has been seriously injured after a Rottweiler fell from a third-floor balcony in a freak accident.
The woman is understood to have been walking down the street when the dog landed directly in front of her.
Eyewitnesses say the woman was so shocked that she fell and hit her head.
The mother-to-be, 28, is now in a serious condition in hospital, according to Italian media.
The incident was reported to have happened on Via Frattina, a busy and vibrant shopping street in central Rome.
The dog died on impact with the street below (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
‘He ended up directly on the asphalt, she stepped back in fright and fell to the ground hitting her head,’ one person told la Repubblica.
The dog is said to have died instantly on impact with the ground.
L’Unione Sarda said passers-by and shop assistants rushed to the woman’s aid and others tried to help the animal.
Italian police are now understood to be investigating how the dog managed to leave the balcony above the street.
Earlier this year an Italian woman was ‘torn apart’ trying to feed her brother’s Rottweiler.
Patrizia La Marca, 53, was taking care of the animal in the Italian town of Ventimiglia when it turned on her.
Neighbours heard her shouting for help and first responders found her covered in blood with horrific bites on her head, arms, chest and shoulders.
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Attempts to provide her with medical help were further hampered by the dog continuing to be aggressive.
The dog eventually had to be shot and injured and then taken to a kennel.
And in Merseyside earlier this year a woman died two weeks after she was attacked by two Rottweilers.
Marie Stevens was found dead at her home in Holden Road, in Brighton-le-Sands, on September 3.
On August 18, the 40-year-old was attacked by two Rottweilers and bitten multiple times on her arms and legs.
A different breed of dangerous dog, the American Bully XL, is set to be banned in the UK under plans by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
It comes following reports of the animals being involved in a number of deadly attacks.
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Police are investigating how the dog managed to leave the third-floor balcony in Rome.