Worker dies after 11 hours trapped within partially collapsed medieval tower in Rome

ROME (AP) — Firefighters late Monday finally managed to extract a worker from beneath rubble inside a medieval tower that partially collapsed during renovation work in the heart of Italy's capital, but the joy of that rescue proved short-lived.

The man didn’t withstand the trauma he suffered and died soon after.

“I express deep sorrow and condolences, on behalf of myself and the government,” Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni said in a statement after midnight, confirming his death. “​We are close to his family and colleagues at this time of unspeakable suffering.”

The Romanian foreign affairs ministry identified the man as Octav Stroici in a statement Tuesday morning, and thanked rescuers for their determination as they worked 11 hours for his extraction. Another Romanian was successfully removed and is out of danger, the statement said.

Rescuers had faced a complex task as they tried to use a first-floor window to get near the trapped worker. But they were forced to retreat in a cloud of debris as the structure continued to give way. Another approach on two ladders was also aborted, and a drone 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. They continued the work late into the night.

A trio of rescuers eventually loaded the trapped worker, Stroici, onto a telescopic aerial ladder, before descending and wheeling him on a stretcher into an ambulance.

“The operation lasted a long time because every time a part of the body was freed there was additional rubble that covered it," Lamberto Giannini, prefect of Rome, told reporters.

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri had told reporters earlier that the worker was speaking to rescuers and using an oxygen mask. He added that rescuers were working with extreme caution in “a very delicate extraction operation” to avoid further collapses.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan posted a statement to X on Tuesday expressing his “profound sadness” after learning Stroici had died in the hospital, and sent condolences to his loved ones.

Three workers were rescued unharmed after the initial midday incident, said firefighter spokesperson Luca Cari. Another worker, age 64, was hospitalized in critical condition; RAI reported he was conscious and had suffered a broken nose.

No firefighters were injured in the ensuing operation.

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.

Hundreds of tourists had gathered 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 crumbled, sending up a cloud of debris and forcing firefighters to quickly descend.

The first collapse struck the central buttress of the structure's southern side, and caused an underlying sloped base to fall. The second damaged part of the stairwell and roof, cultural heritage officials said in a statement.

Queen Paglinawan, 27, was attending to a client in a gelato parlor next door when the tower first started coming apart.

“I was working and then I heard something falling, and then I saw the tower collapse in a diagonal way,″ Paglinawan, 27, told The Associated Press as yet more rubble crashed down.

The tower, which has been closed since 2007, is undergoing a 6.9 million euro (nearly $8 million) restoration, that includes conservation work, the installation of electrical, lighting and water systems and a new museum installation dedicated to the most recent phases of the Roman Imperial Forum, officials said.

Before the latest phase was started in June, structural surveys and load tests were carried out “to verify the stability of the structure, which confirmed the safety conditions necessary” to proceed with work, including asbestos removal, officials said. The current work, carried out at a cost of 400,000 euros ($460,000), was just about complete.

Italian prosecutors arrived at the scene as the rescue operation was underway, and were investigating possible charges for negligent disaster and negligent injuries, Italian media reported. It is common in Italy for investigations to begin while an event is ongoing and before possible suspects are identified.

German student Viktoria Braeu had just finished a tour at the nearby Colosseum and was passing by the scene during the firefighters' initial rescue attempt.

“And then we were like, ‘It’s probably not long until it's going to go down,' and then it just started erupting,'' said Braeu, 18.

AP reporters Colleen Barry in Milan, Silvia Stellaci in Rome and Stephen McGrath in Leamington Spa, England, contributed

Firefighters pull a construction worker from under the debris of a medieval tower, which was under renovation near the Roman Forum in Rome, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, after it partially collapsed in the morning. (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)

A firefighter gives a thumbs-up as rescuers pull a construction worker from under the debris of a medieval tower that was under renovation near the Roman Forum in Rome, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, after it partially collapsed earlier in the morning. (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)

A cloud of debris from a second collapse is seen surrounding firefighters who were trying to rescue a worker after a medieval tower near the Roman Forum partially collapsed during renovation work, in Rome, Monday Nov. 3 2025. (Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse via AP)

Firefighters work on a medieval tower Torre dei Conti near the Roman Forum after it had partially collapsed during renovation works, meters away from the Colosseum in Rome, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Police officers patrol the medieval tower Torre dei Conti area near the Roman Forum after it had partially collapsed during renovation works, meters away from the Colosseum in Rome, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The medieval tower Torre dei Conti near the Roman Forum is engulfed by a cloud of debris from a second collapse after it had partially collapsed during renovation works, in Rome, Italy, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Paramilitary Police officers Carabinieri look as firefighters work to rescue a construction worker from under the debris of the partially collapsed medieval Torre de Conti, meters away from the Colosseum in Rome, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Firefighters work to rescue a construction worker from under the debris of the partially collapsed medieval Torre de Conti, meters away from the Colosseum in Rome, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Firefighters work to rescue a construction worker from under the debris of the partially collapsed medieval Torre de Conti, meters away from the Colosseum in Rome, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Firefighters work to rescue a construction worker from under the debris of the partially collapsed medieval Torre de Conti, meters away from the Colosseum in Rome, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

This combo of three pictures shows a cloud of debris from a second collapse surrounding firefighters who were trying to rescue a worker after a medieval tower near the Roman Forum partially collapsed during renovation work, in Rome, Italy, Monday Nov. 3 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Fighting continued to rage Saturday morning along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, even after U.S. President Donald Trump, acting as a mediator, declared that he had won agreement from both countries for a ceasefire.

Thai officials have said they did not agree to a ceasefire, and Cambodia has not commented on Trump’s claim. Its defense ministry instead said Thai jets carried out airstrikes Saturday morning. Cambodian media reported Trump’s claim without elaborating.

The latest large-scale fighting was set off by a skirmish on Dec. 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire promoted by Trump that ended five days of earlier combat in July over longstanding territorial disputes.

The July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.

About two dozen people have officially been reported killed in this past week’s fighting, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both sides of the border.

The Thai military acknowledges 11 of its troops have been killed, while estimating there have been 165 fatalities among Cambodian soldiers. Cambodia has not announced military casualties, but has said at least 11 civilians have been killed and 76 wounded.

Trump on Friday, after speaking to Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, had announced an agreement to restart the ceasefire.

“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump said in his Truth Social post.

Trump’s claim came after midnight in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Anutin had after his call with Trump said he had explained Thailand’s reasons for fighting and said peace would depend on Cambodia ceasing its attacks first. The Thai foreign ministry later explicitly disputed Trump’s claim that a ceasefire had been reached. Anutin's busy day on Friday including dissolving Parliament so new elections could be held early next year.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, in comments posted early Saturday morning, also made no mention of a ceasefire.

He said he held phone conversations on Friday night with Trump, and a night earlier with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and thanked both “for their continuous efforts to achieve a long-lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand.”

“Cambodia is ready to cooperate in any way that is needed,' Hun Manet wrote.

Thailand has been carrying out airstrikes on what it says are strictly military targets, while Cambodia has been firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets that have caused havoc but relatively few casualties.

BM-21 rocket launchers can fire up to 40 rockets at a time with a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles). These rockets cannot be precisely targeted and have landed largely in areas from where most people have already been evacuated.

However, the Thai army announced Saturday that BM-21 rockets had hit a civilian area in Sisaket province, seriously injuring two civilians who had heard warning sirens and had been running toward a bunker for safety.

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Peck reported from Bangkok. Sopheng Cheang in Serei Saophoan, Cambodia, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

An evacuee tastes soup as she takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing from home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Evacuees cook food as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Children raise their hands while receiving donation from charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Evacuees wait to receive donation from local charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Village security volunteers and resident run into shelter while the blasts sounded too close in Buriram province, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, following renewed border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)