A six-year-old boy is fighting for his life after his mum hurled herself from their first-floor apartment while holding him in her arms in central Italy.

Mother-of-two Gemma Paris, 37, jumped around 13 feet (four metres) from the flat in Celano, a town and comune in the Province of L’Aquila on 1st April.

While the woman – who worked at a local bar – died instantly, her son Sergio was still alive and was airlifted to San Salvatore Hospital in L’Aquila.

Later on the same day, a helicopter took the boy to Bambin Gesu, a children’s clinic in Rome.

Celano Mayor Settimio Santilli announced: “We are all left speechless by this horrific tragedy. An overwhelming sense of emptiness is silencing us all.

“Rest in peace, dear Gemma. Let us all pray for the wellbeing of little Sergio. All of Celano would like to express their heartfelt condolences to the parents of Gemma, Graziella and Michele, her husband Achille and their daughter Fernanda.”

Santilli added: “Gemma was the same age as my wife. I also knew her parents very well. We are in shock.”

Paramedics had been alerted by neighbours.

Sergio’s condition has been described by local media as “very serious.” There has been no information on which kind of injuries he suffered in the fall.

However, the boy – who is being treated in the intensive care unit of the children’s clinic – is reportedly out of life danger.

The seriously injured boy’s sister Fernanda is 10 years old, according to local media. She was reportedly not at home when the incident occurred.

While some media claim that the woman jumped out of a window, others claim that she threw herself off a balcony.

There have been no reports on family-internal troubles or mental issues of the woman.

On social media, a user called the incident a “terrible tragedy” while another comment appealed: “Let’s pray for Sergio!”