A worker trapped after part of a medieval tower collapsed in central Rome has died, hospital officials said.
Oktaj Strojic was freed at 23:00 local time (22:00 GMT), nearly 12 hours after a section of the Torre dei Conti, on the edge of the famous Roman Forum and close to the Colosseum, collapsed, trapping him below.
His heart stopped in the ambulance, and doctors at the hospital who rushed to the hospital were unable to save him.
Romania’s Foreign Ministry said Strojic and another of the three workers rescued from the wreckage were Romanian nationals. One person is said to be in critical condition.
Stroici’s rescue was initially described as an extraordinary feat by firefighters who worked well into the night. Rescue teams used drones and debris removal machines to try to reach him despite the risk of the vulnerable tower collapsing further.
He was conscious and talking to emergency personnel during the rescue. His wife was also at the scene.
Stroici has been carrying out conservation work on a medieval tower that is part of the Roman Forum, one of the city’s busiest tourist attractions. But this particular building has been empty and abandoned for many years.
The Rome prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the case.
Efforts to rescue Strojić, who is reported to be in his 60s, were halted when the second part of the 29-metre (90-foot) tall tower began to collapse again, with bricks raining down and forming a huge cloud of dust.
Earlier, Rome Governor Lamberto Giannini He described it as “a very complex situation.” Giannini said that after the initial collapse, firefighters had “put some protection in place” around the trapped man, so “that definitely protected him” when the second collapse occurred.
He added that the rescue operation took so long because it required “mitigating the enormous risks faced by those trying to carry out the rescue.”
According to local media, one firefighter was taken to the hospital with eye problems, but the others were safe and the search eventually resumed.
The police chief said there was no immediate risk of the tower collapsing.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote to
Ottaviano, 67, another worker who was inside the building at the time of the collapse but escaped from the balcony without injury, told AFP: “It wasn’t safe. I just want to go home.”
The mayor of Rome and the Italian Minister of Culture visited the site.
The 13th-century tower is part of the Roman Forum, a major tourist attraction in central Rome, but is separated by a road from the main visitor area. Police videotaped surrounding streets as a precaution.
The medieval tower was built by Pope Innocent III as a residence for his brother.
