Worker Rescued After Collapse of Medieval Tower

Firefighters late Monday rescued a worker who was trapped for hours beneath rubble in a medieval tower that partially collapsed during renovation work in the heart of capital Rome earlier in the day. Images broadcast on local television showed a trio of rescuers loading the man onto a telescopic aerial ladder, then descending and wheeling him on a stretcher into an ambulance, the AP reports. His state wasn't immediately clear, but Adriano De Acutis, chief commander of Rome's firefighters, said on state television channel RAI that he was conscious.

• Firefighters faced a complex task as the structure continued to give way while they tried to get near the trapped worker through a first-floor window, forcing their retreat on telescopic aerial ladders in a cloud of smoke, the AP reports. Another approach on two ladders was also aborted, and a drone was sent up in their stead. As dusk approached, firefighters lifted on a crane used giant tubes to suck rubble out of the second-floor window.

• Three workers were rescued unharmed after the initial midday collapse, said firefighter spokesperson Luca Cari. Italian media reported that another worker, 64, was hospitalized in critical condition, but there was no immediate update on his condition. No firefighters were injured in the ongoing operation.
• Rome's top law enforcement official, Prefect Lamberto Giannini, said there were "signs of life" from the trapped worker, and that firefighters had managed to give him some protective cover during an earlier rescue attempt.
• Giannini called the situation "very complex" and said that other equipment was being brought in. "It will be a very long operation. We must try to save this person while mitigating the enormous risks to the people who are trying to save him,'' Giannini told reporters.
• Hundreds of tourists had assembled to watch as firefighters used a mobile ladder to bring a stretcher to the upper level of the Torre dei Conti during the first rescue attempt. Suddenly, another part of the structure partially collapsed, sending up a cloud of debris and forcing firefighters to quickly descend on the ladder.

• The Torre dei Conti was built in the 13th century by Pope Innocent III as a residence for his family. The tower was damaged in a 1349 earthquake and suffered subsequent collapses in the 17th century.
• The Italian government summoned the Russian ambassador after the Kremlin linked the collapse to Italy's support for Ukraine, AFP reports. "As long as the Italian government keeps uselessly wasting taxpayers' money, all of Italy will collapse, from the economy to its towers," said Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

This story has been updated with new developments.