Rome: One worker was trapped and another injured after part of a medieval tower collapsed Italy

A medieval tower in central Rome partially collapsed twice during renovation work, trapping a worker on the top floor and injuring another.

Falling debris from the initial collapse of the Torre dei Conte tower, near the ruins of the Roman Forum, just after 11.30am (1030 GMT), injured a 64-year-old worker, ANSA news agency reported. He was taken to San Giovanni Hospital in critical condition. Lazio regional president Francesco Rocca said the worker’s injuries were not life-threatening.

In front of hundreds of tourists and passers-by, firefighters rescued three other workers from scaffolding on the 29-meter-high tower. During the operation, at approximately 1 p.m., an internal section of the tower collapsed, trapping one worker on the top floor.

“We are trying to get him out alive, but the situation is complicated by the risk of further collapses,” said Luca Cari, spokesman for the National Fire Service. The worker was reportedly “alert” and rescuers were helping him breathe.

Eyewitnesses reported that they heard a loud bang and saw clouds of dust. One of them told the Corriere della Sera newspaper: “I saw a worker fall.”

Firefighters flew a drone through the window to inspect the site.

One of the workers inside at the time of the first collapse said he escaped down the balcony. The man, who gave his name as Ottaviano and was 67 years old, said: “It was not safe. I just want to go home.”

Elena, from the UK, who like the others did not want to give her last name, works at the Shamrock, a bar that overlooks the tower from its outdoor seating area. She said she was preparing to open the bar when the first collapse occurred.

“It felt a little bit like an earthquake,” she said. “I saw a guy trying to get out by walking onto the scaffolding – I didn’t realize there were people inside working on it.”

She said that people living in the apartments opposite ran into the street when they heard a loud bang and felt the building shaking.

Sue and Don, a couple from the United Kingdom, were having breakfast at a restaurant in front of the memorial earlier in the morning when they heard loud drilling. “It seemed like they were digging deep into the building, and we wondered what they could do,” Sue said.

The couple then went to visit the Colosseum, and when they returned, the area was closed and the rescue operation began.

Caterina, who was born in the Italian capital, was among a large crowd of onlookers who gathered at the scene. “I’ve never experienced anything like this in central Rome before,” she said. “It is centuries old and therefore a very important monument. Something may have been hit during the works which destabilized the structure.”

Queen Paglinawan was working at a nearby gelato shop when she heard two loud noises in quick succession. “I was working and then I heard the sound of some people falling and then I saw the tower collapsing in a diagonal way,” Paglinawan, 27, said as another collapse occurred in the background.

Victoria Brau, 18, a student from Germany, passed by the scene immediately after the collapse while rescuing firefighters.

“We were at the Colosseum… and we were just walking to get some food,” Brau said. “And then we said, ‘Maybe it won’t be long until the volcano goes down,’ and then the volcano started erupting.”

The Forum area and Piazza Venezia, constantly crowded with tourists and traffic, have been cordoned off. The Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, and the Italian Minister of Culture, Alessandro Joli, were at the scene.

Torre dei Conti was built in the 13th century by Richard Conti, brother of Pope Innocent III, as a fortified residence for his family. It was damaged in an earthquake in 1349 and collapses occurred in the 17th century.

The restoration work is being financed with money from the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery fund.

AFP, Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report