Worker dies after being rescued from collapsed tower in Rome
A worker who was pulled from the rubble of a medieval tower that partly collapsed in Rome died on Tuesday, Italian media reported, citing hospital sources.
The man, a Romanian national, had remained conscious during the long rescue operation before being hospitalised in critical condition on Monday night, according to authorities.
"Resuscitation attempts were made for about an hour to save Octay Stroici," Italian news agency ANSA said, citing the Umberto I hospital.
"Despite this, spontaneous cardiac activity could not be restored" and his "death was pronounced at 12:20 am."
Stroici had been helping to renovate the Torre dei Conti, which partially collapsed shortly before midday on Monday.
Italy summons Russian ambassador over tower collapse jibe
Italy’s foreign ministry summoned Russian Ambassador to Italy Alexey Paramonov on Monday night for a formal reprimand over comments made on the collapse of the Torre dei Conte, as injured worker Octay Stroici remained trapped in the building.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova linked the accident to Italy's military support of Ukraine, news agency Ansa reported, saying that "for as long as the Italian government continues to waste taxpayers' money, Italy, from its economy to its towers, will collapse completely."
Ansa cited Italian foreign ministry sources as saying Zakharova’s “squalid and worrying” comments "confirm the abyss of vulgarity into which the Moscow leadership has plunged.
"No one in Italy, no one at all, would ever think of rejoicing, of speculating on an incident, a tragedy in which we, as Italian people, are all still involved.”
Twenty percent of Italy's coastline ‘could disappear by 2050’
One fifth of Italy's beaches risk disappearing underwater within the next 25 years, while four in ten could be gone by 2100, a new report from the Italian Geographical Society (SGI) warned.
Rising sea levels and unchecked urban development were among the factors contributing to rapid coastal erosion, according to Sky Italia's summary of SGI's report 'Paesaggi sommersi' ('Sunken Landscapes').
The northeastern regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto and Emilia Romagna were deemed at high risk due to the regular flooding of the Po Delta.
Sardinia's Gulf of Cagliari and Gulf of Oristano were respectively projected to retreat as far as 12km and 10km inland in the next 75 years.
If the forecasts are accurate, Italy's economy could shrink by as much as €30 billion by 2050, the report said.
With reporting from AFP.
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