HIS fast reflexes saved his wife's life.
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A Taiwanese man was in the right place at the right time when his wife fell from their fourth-storey apartment.
The man, who was standing in the street below, quickly reached out his arms to catch her.
Though they both suffered injuries from the incident, the man's actions prevented his wife from being more seriously injured.
The incident took place on Saturday afternoon.
The police told Taiwan newspapers that the woman, known only as Madam Wang, 37, had been married to Mr Chen, 38, for more than 10 years.
They have a son and daughter.
A neighbour said the couple had gone shopping earlier in the day.
At around 11am, Madam Wang returned home and made a call to her mother. The two are believed to have quarrelled over the phone.
Depression
Madam Wang, who suffers from depression, went to the fourth-floor balcony and locked the door.
She then sat with her back facing the edge of the building and began crying and wailing.
Her young son got worried and called his dad, who was helping someone with a painting job at that time.
Mr Chen rushed back at once. At the foot of his apartment block, he saw his wife sitting on the balcony.
He shouted for her to open the door and told her not to do anything drastic.
Mr Chen kept talking to his wife for the next hour. She calmed down somewhat, but refused to leave the balcony or unlock the door.
At around 12.30pm, officers from the fire department arrived at the scene and started preparing for a rescue operation.
While they were in the process of inflating a safety mattress, Madam Wang suddenly fell.
As she plummeted from the fourth floor, Mr Chen did the only thing he could - he tried to catch her.
Impact too great
But the impact was too great.
Mr Chen was unable to hold on to his wife, who then fell on a car at the foot of the block, denting the hood.
Madam Wang and Mr Chen were taken to the hospital.
Madam Wang suffered multiple fractures, while Mr Chen fractured his right shoulder.
They have both been hospitalised.
A spokesman for the fire department said that objects falling from a height can pick up a lot of speed on the way down.
He warned that people should not attempt to catch falling objects as they could be injured.
Madam Wang weighed around 50kg. Based on the height of her fall, the impact Mr Chen felt would be equivalent to being struck by a heavy free-falling object travelling at 55kmh.
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