A man has died after becoming trapped in the rubble of a medieval tower near Rome’s famed Colosseum.

Around 140 firefighters raced against time to dig through the mountain of stone to pull free Octay Stroici.

The 66-year-old had been working inside the Torre dei Conti (Tower of the Counts) when a section collapsed.

The Romanian national was finally rescued at 11pm on Monday – some 12 hours after the incident happened in the heart of Italy’s capital.

Mr Stroici’s wife watched as he was put in an ambulance and then taken to hospital. He was pronounced dead hours later after doctors were unable to save him.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni offered her condolences shortly after his death was confirmed: ‘I express deep sorrow and condolences,on behalf of myself and the government,for the tragic loss of Octay Stroici,the worker who was killed in the collapse of the Torre dei Conti in Rome.

‘We are close to his family and colleagues at this time of unspeakable suffering.’

The Torre dei Conti collapsed twice during restoration work,with clouds of dust billowing out of its windows as it crumbled onto the pavement.

A crowd gathers after a section of the Torre dei Conti collapsed (Picture: EPA)

Three other workers were earlier evacuated from the site,with one of them in critical condition.

Another worker,aged 64,was hospitalised in critical condition,with state television RAI reporting that he was conscious and had suffered a broken nose.

A second incident happened as firefighters were working on the tower with aerial ladders to rescue the worker trapped by the first collapse.

During the attempt,another part of the structure partially collapsed,forcing the firefighters to retreat.

Firefighters work to rescue a construction worker from the tower’s debris (Picture: AP)

Amid the tragedy,the spokesperson for the Russian ministry of foreign affairs,Maria Zakharova,made a link between the collapse and Italy’s support for Ukraine.

In a statement on Telegram,she wrote: ‘As long as the Italian government keeps uselessly wasting taxpayers’ money,all of Italy will collapse,from the economy to its towers.’

Hitting back,Italy’s foreign minister,Antonio Tajani,slammed her remarks as ‘shameful’.

The tower,which has not been used since 2006,was being restored as part of a four-year renovation project due to end next year.

It took more than 11 hours to rescue the Romanian national (Picture: AP)

The current work,carried out at a cost of £350,000,was almost completed.

The building was erected in the 13th century by Pope Innocent III for his family.

Before it was scaled down after earthquake damage in the 14th and 17th centuries,the building was twice as high.

More recently,it was home to city hall offices.

The rescue operation continued late into the evening (Picture: Reuters)

The restoration project for the tower focused on the serious problems found on the external wall of the building.

This included widespread decay of the tower,growth of unwanted plants in the walls and vandalism.

The EU-funded restoration work planned to redo lights,water systems and overall improvements in the structure’s strength.

A museum exhibition,a service centre and a conference room for cultural initiatives were also going to be created in the space.