Worker trapped under collapsed medieval tower in Rome dies

ROME (Reuters) -A Romanian worker trapped for hours under the rubble of a partially collapsed medieval tower near the Colosseum in central Rome has died, Italian and Romanian authorities said on Tuesday.

Parts of the 29-metre (95 ft) Torre dei Conti crashed to the ground at around 1030 GMT on Monday and a second collapse followed 90 minutes later, videos posted on social media and Reuters video showed.

Clouds of dust came billowing out of the windows to the sound of collapsing masonry. The second incident took place while firefighters were working on the structure with aerial ladders.

MAN PULLED FROM RUBBLE AFTER 11 HOURS

The man was pulled out of the tower by emergency services late on Monday, after about 11 hours, but was in a state of cardiac arrest when he arrived at the hospital and was declared dead early on Tuesday, a hospital statement said.

"Despite the sustained efforts of the medical teams in Rome, Octav Stroici, who had been trapped under the rubble of a historic building undergoing restoration works, has sadly passed away," the Romanian Foreign Ministry said on X.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed her condolences.

A second worker, also Romanian, was pulled out almost immediately and hospitalised with serious but not life-threatening head injuries, while two more workers suffered minor injuries and declined hospital treatment.

None of the firefighters were injured.

TOWER BUILT BY 13TH CENTURY POPE

The tower, which was due to be converted into a museum and conference space, is located halfway along the Via dei Fori Imperiali, the broad avenue that leads from central Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum.

The building was still standing, but showing significant internal damage.

It once hosted city hall offices but has not been in use since 2006 and was being worked on as part of a four-year renovation project due to end next year, according to Rome city authorities.

Due to the EU-funded restoration work, the area around the tower was closed off to pedestrians.

The building was erected by Pope Innocent III for his family in the early 13th century, and was originally twice as high, but was scaled down after damage from earthquakes in the 14th and 17th centuries.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante, additional reporting by Alan Charlish in Warsaw, Sara Rossi in Milan, writing by Alvise Armellini and Sara Rossi; Editing by Keith Weir, Gavin Jones, Lincoln Feast and Conor Humphries)