A man died on Tuesday morning, October 3rd, after being trapped under the rubble on Monday, October 4th, for 11 hours in the medieval Torre dei Conti in central Rome, hospital officials confirmed. Octav Stroici, 66, a Romanian national, was rescued after part of the 13th-century tower collapsed near the Roman Forum and the Colosseum.
He was conscious the whole time, but suddenly his heart stopped in the ambulance. Doctors were unable to save him.
Stroici had been carrying out conservation work on the abandoned tower. Firefighters faced further danger when another section of the tower crumbled during the rescue. Three other workers were pulled from the rubble, with one escaping uninjured.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her condolences.
“I express deep sorrow and condolences, on behalf of myself and the government, for the tragic loss of Octav Stroici, the worker who was killed in the collapse of the Torre dei Conti in Rome,” she said in a statement. She added: “We are close to his family and colleagues at this time of unspeakable suffering.”
Rome’s authorities have opened an investigation, and streets around the site were closed as a precaution. Italian leaders visited the scene and expressed condolences to Stroici’s family.
