Rome: Firefighters worked to rescue a worker trapped for hours under the rubble of a medieval tower that partially collapsed while being renovated in the heart of Italy’s capital on Monday, seriously injuring another worker.
Firefighters faced a complex task as the structure continued to give way as they attempted to approach the trapped worker through a first-floor window, forcing them to retreat on telescoping aerial ladders amid a cloud of smoke. Another approach via two staircases was also aborted and a drone was sent in its place.
As dusk approached, firefighters atop a crane used giant tubes to vacuum debris from the second-story window.
Three workers were rescued unharmed after the initial collapse at noon, according to fire department spokesman Luca Cari. Italian media reported that another worker, 64, was hospitalized in critical condition, but there was no update on his condition. No firefighters were injured during the ongoing operation.
Rome’s top law enforcement official, Prefect Lamberto Giannini, said there were “signs of life” for the trapped worker and that firefighters had managed to provide him with some protective cover during an earlier rescue attempt.
Giannini called the situation “very complex” and said other teams were being brought in.
The medieval tower Torre dei Conti, near the Roman Forum, is engulfed in a cloud of debris from a second landslide after it partially collapsed during renovation works.Credit: AP
“It will be a very long operation. We must try to save this person while mitigating the enormous risks to the people trying to save him,” Giannini told reporters.
Hundreds of tourists had gathered to watch firefighters use a moving ladder to carry a stretcher to the upper level of the Torre dei Conti during the first rescue attempt. Suddenly, another part of the structure partially collapsed, causing a cloud of debris and forcing firefighters to quickly descend the ladder.
