The tourist, from Avellino, southern Italy, was reportedly talking to a lifeguard while sunbathing on the popular Cala Bitta beach in the town of Arzachena in the north of the island on Wednesday when the accident happened.
At around 1.00pm, a gust of wind caught a sun umbrella causing the shaft to pierce through her abdomen and causing her to fall backwards, La Nuova Sardegna reported.
The lifeguard immediately alerted emergency services and the woman, aged 78, was taken to the Giovanni Paolo II hospital in Olbia.
Although the wound was deep, it did not damage any vital organs, the paper said. The woman’s life is not thought to be in danger.
Police have now confiscated the sun umbrella in case of a possible legal complaint.
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