1 of 2 | Debris falls after a section of the Torre dei Conti collapsed in Rome on Monday. The collapse killed one worker after firefighters rescued others from the structure. A second collapse happened during the rescue operation. Photo by Maurizio Brambatti/EPA
The Torre dei Conti, a medieval tower in Rome near the Colosseum, partially collapsed Monday during restoration work, killing a worker inside.
The 64-year-old man was in critical condition after being hit by falling debris and suffering head injuries. The Romanian worker was taken to a local hospital, shortly after being rescued, where he died.
“I express deep sorrow and condolences, on behalf of myself and the government, for the tragic loss of Octay Stroici, the worker who was killed in the collapse of the Torre dei Conti in Rome,” Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement. “We are close to his family and colleagues at this time of unspeakable suffering.”
Two others suffered minor injuries. The three workers were on scaffolding and were rescued by firefighters using a ladder truck, Italian news agency ANSA said.
The initial collapse happened at around 11:30 a.m. CEST. While firefighters were rescuing workers at about 1 p.m. an internal section of the tower collapsed, leaving one worker trapped on an upper floor, The Guardian reported.
“The rescue operation took a long time because every time a part of the worker’s body was freed, further collapses occurred, burying him again under the rubble,” said Rome’s top law enforcement official, Prefect Lamberto Giannini.
Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri and Italy’s Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli were at the scene during the rescue operation.
The tower hasn’t been open to the public since 2006, The New York Times reported. It’s 95-feet tall and was built in the 13th century by Pope Innocent III for his family. It was once double that height, but earthquakes damaged the upper sections over the centuries. It was scheduled to reopen in 2026 after four years of restoration work.
The area around the tower is a heavy tourist area.
