At a Glance A 9-year-old girl's loving embrace likely saved the life of her 4 year-old sister during last week's deadly earthquake in Italy.

The sisters were found 15 hours after the quake that killed 291 last week.

The elder sister did not survive.

The tender and heroic gesture of a 9-year-old girl during last week's deadly earthquake in Italy likely saved the life of her little sister.

According to the Associated Press, Bishop Giovanni D'Ercole, who spoke during a funeral Mass for 35 of the 290 people killed by the 6.2 magnitude quake that leveled three towns and killed more than 290 people, shared the heartbreaking story of Giulia Rinaldo, 9, and her 4-year-old sister Giorgia.

D'Ercole said that when he returned to his diocese in the town of Pescara Del Tronto some 15 hours after the quake, he came across firefighters using their bare hands to dig out the two sisters.

"The older one, Giulia, was sprawled over the smaller one, Giorgia. Giulia, dead, Giorgia, alive. They were in an embrace," D'Ercole said.

Massimo Caico, the firefighter who pulled the girls out, told Italy's La Repubblica newspaper that the embrace offered to the younger girl by her older sibling created a pocket of air that allowed Giorgia to breathe and to survive.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/1472313085723_2.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/1472313085723_2.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/1472313085723_2.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > The coffin of Giulia, 9 years old, is carried outside the gymnasium at the end of the state funeral service in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016. As Italians observed a day of national mourning, President Sergio Mattarella and Premier Matteo Renzi joined grieving family members for a state funeral for 35 of the 290 people killed in Wednesday’s quake. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A black Labrador named Leo sniffed out the girls and firefighters began to frantically dig for signs of life. They came across a doll in the rubble, followed by the cold, lifeless leg of Giulia. Despair turned to hope, however, when the ground nearby began moving "in the rhythm of what could be breathing."

"Maybe they hugged each other in their sleep or in fear, and the body of Giulia saved Giorgia," Caico told the newspaper.

"The older one, Giulia, who sadly died, was found protecting the little one, who was found terrified, her mouth full of dust. Death and life in an embrace, but life won. Life was renewed, in fact, because surviving an earthquake is like being born again,” D'Ercole said in his homily Saturday.

According to the Telegraph, a fireman named Andrea, who helped extract the girls, left a note on Guilia's coffin Saturday that read, “Ciao, little one, I gave a hand trying to pull you out of that prison of rubble. Sorry we didn’t make it in time.”

(MORE: Ways You Can Help the Victims of Italy's Deadly Earthquake )

The rest of the note left little doubt about the impact the ordeal had on the firefighter.

“Unfortunately, you had stopped breathing but I want you to know from up there that we did all that we could to pull you out. When I get home I will know that there is an angel watching me from heaven. Ciao Giulia, even if I never knew you, I love you. Andrea.”

Sadly, as mourners wept for Guilia and the 34 other victims of the earthquake, little Giorgia spent her fourth birthday in a nearby hospital, reportedly in a state of deep shock and refusing to speak.

According to Italian news reports, Giorgia is only sleeping, crying and asking for her doll and her mother, who is also recovering from injuries sustained during the quake.

As the spiritual leader of Pescara Del Tronto, D'Ercole urged mourners to allow the grief to come and to not give up hope, according to the Associated Press.

"Don't be afraid to cry out your suffering — I have seen a lot of this — but please do not lose courage," D'Ercole said in his homily. "Only together can we rebuild our houses and our churches. Together, above all, we will be able to restore life to our communities."

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