A medieval tower that was being reconstructed in central Rome, near the popular Colosseum, has collapsed, and one worker trapped under the rubble has died, the BBC reports.
The 66-year-old Romanian worker was rescued from the rubble almost 12 hours after the accident, and although the man was still alive when he was rescued, his heart stopped on the way to the hospital. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has reported that another Romanian citizen works in the collapsed tower.
Part of the medieval tower, Torre de Conti, first collapsed on the morning of Monday, the 3rd of November, writes Politico. The tower is part of a fortress built in the 13th century as the family residence of the then Pope Innocent III, and the restoration was part of the European Union project Caput Mundi, which is funded by the EU’s economic recovery program. Just days before the tragic accident, the Italian government approved changes to the law to improve safety in the workplace after a series of fatalities. Both the mayor of Rome and the Italian culture minister traveled to the scene on the 3rd of November.
The BBC writes that
the rescue operation was very complicated, and during it another collapse of the tower structure occurred.
The worker who died was carrying out the necessary work to preserve the tower. The building had been empty and abandoned for years. The Rome prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation.
The prefect of Rome, Lamberto Giannini, described the situation as very complicated. After the initial collapse, rescuers had to secure structures around the trapped man, and when the second collapse occurred, rescuers covered the victim. He added that the rescue operation had taken so long because they had to minimize the risk to the rescuers. After the second collapse, one of the rescuers was taken to hospital, but the others continued working.
Another worker who managed to escape the tower without injury told AFP that it was not safe and he just wanted to go home.
Read also: Paris prosecutors: Louvre robbery not the work of organized crime
Follow us on Facebook and X!
