Another worker was rushed to hospital and remains in a critical condition
THIS is the horrifying moment an ancient Roman tower near the Colosseum collapses, trapping a man beneath the rubble.
Shocking footage shows the Torre dei Conti Tower in Rome crumbling to the ground, leaving another person in a critical condition.
The tower, which was undergoing restoration work, collapsed in two stages over an hour apart.
Emergency services were first called to reports at around 11:30 this morning, trapping and injuring several workers.
Then, as emergency responders worked, the tower caved in some more at around 12:45pm – though nobody was further injured.
As of Monday evening, a 66-year-old Romanian man was still trapped beneath the rubble, and another Romanian man was in a critical condition in hospital with a head injury.
Both are believed to have been working at the site.
Lamberto Giannini, from the local fire department, said the team was working tirelessly but the “situation is complex because of the risk of further collapses”.
The trapped worker is conscious and communicating with the emergency responders.
His wife is also at the scene and talking to him.
Two other workers had to be rescued from the rubble but escaped with minor injuries.
USAR firefighters, who specialise in rescuing people from rubble, are on the scene to take charge of the operation.
The prosecutor’s office has said it is investigating whether negligence is at play.
Another worker, 67-year-old Ottaviano, was inside at the time of the collapse but escaped from a balcony uninjured.
He told AFP: “It was not safe. I just want to go home.”
Footage shows rubble gushing from a window of the enormous medieval tower crumbling, as huge clouds of dust erupt from inside.
The Torre dei Contei, in one of Rome‘s tourist hotspots, has been closed to the public for many years.
After the first collapse, firefighters “put up some protection” around the trapped worker, which “shielded him” from the second stone-fall, Giannini said.
The fire head added: “It will be a very long operation because we have to try to save the person, but we also have to try to mitigate… the enormous risks faced by the people trying to carry out the rescue.”
Queen Paglinawan, 27, was working at a nearby gelato parlour and heard two loud noises in rapid succession.
She said: “I was working and then I heard some like falling, and then I saw the tower collapse in a diagonal way.”
German student Viktoria Braeu was also at the scene.
Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/15432780/collapse-tower-rome-colosseum/
