A Romanian worker died after spending hours under the ruins of a medieval tower near the Colosseum in Rome, BTA reported. The incident occurred during restoration work.
The man was pulled alive and conscious by emergency services late last night and taken to hospital in serious condition, but later died, Rome police chief Lamberto Giannini said.
Video footage broadcast on Italian state broadcaster RAI earlier showed three rescuers lifting the man onto a telescopic ladder, then lowering him down and carrying him on a stretcher to an ambulance.
Rescuers faced a difficult task trying to use a first-floor window to reach the trapped worker, the Associated Press reported. But they were forced to retreat after a cloud of debris as the structure continued to collapse. Another approach, involving two ladders, was also abandoned and a drone was sent instead.
As darkness fell, Italian firefighters used a crane to raise giant pipes to suck debris from a second-floor window. They continued their work late into the night.
Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri told reporters earlier that the worker was speaking to rescuers and was wearing an oxygen mask. Gualtieri added that rescuers were working with extreme caution in a "very delicate extraction operation" to avoid further collapse.
Three other workers had earlier been pulled out unharmed after the initial incident at noon on Sunday, fire service spokesman Luca Cari said. Another worker, a 64-year-old man who had been rescued earlier, was hospitalized in critical condition. Italian television station RAI reported that he was conscious but had a broken nose.
No firefighters were injured during the rescue operation.