This is the dramatic moment residents held up a huge mat to catch an elderly woman falling from a building.

Local media reported that the pensioner, 102, had mistaken a window for an exit door on the upper floor of a shop on Baicheng Avenue in Henan, China.

Passersby and merchants below spotted the centenarian hanging from the edge of the building on May 27.

The quick-thinking group immediately pulled a green astro turf floor mat under the unsuspecting woman.

The nerve-wracking footage shows the old lady desperately holding onto the ledge before tumbling 40 ft to the ground.

She bounced off the awning and then plunged onto the rug held tightly by 21 concerned individuals.

Upon impact, the woman was seen lying on her side, visibly weakened, as one of the rescuers gently lifted her up and checked on her.

Paramedics were called and quickly transported the pensioner to the hospital for medical treatment.

Ms Shi, one of the witnesses, said: 'It was around 8:15 a.m. and our store had just opened when I heard someone shouting outside the shop. When I turned around, I saw the elderly woman crawling out of the window on the third floor.

'At that time, a passerby called to her and watched her go back in, but after a while, she climbed out again.'

Local media reported that one of the merchants, Ms Chen, provided the plastic turf mat from her storefront.

Ms Chen said: 'After I discovered the old lady had climbed out of the window, I hurriedly pulled my freshly laid plastic lawn mat and got everyone to help hold it up.

'In this way, more than a dozen people surrounded the mat, lifted it into the air, and just as we aligned it, the old lady fell.

'We carried her down to the ground. She was conscious, and her family members also arrived at the scene.'

Authorities later confirmed that the elderly woman had recovered from the incident.