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 was short-lived.

The man didn't withstand the trauma he suffered and died soon thereafter.

"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," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement after midnight.

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

Images broadcast on local television had shown a trio of rescuers loading the man onto a telescopic aerial ladder, then descending and wheelin

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