Overview
- Octav (Octay) Stroici, a 66-year-old Romanian worker, was freed after roughly 11 hours and died overnight at Rome’s Umberto I hospital, according to hospital officials.
- The 13th-century tower near the Imperial Forums and the Colosseum suffered an initial collapse around 11:20 a.m., followed about 90 minutes later by a second partial collapse that complicated the rescue.
- Five workers were trapped in total; four were rescued earlier, and another worker remains hospitalized in serious condition, authorities said.
- Firefighters used cranes, drones and telescopic ladders, expanded the safety perimeter near Via Cavour and Largo Corrado Ricci, and kept tourists and traffic away during a high-risk operation.
- Rome prosecutors opened an inquiry into possible involuntary manslaughter and negligence as labor inspectors joined the probe; the EU-backed restoration project is paused and the site remains sealed.