A British tourist is fighting for his life after a devastating explosion destroyed the B&B apartment where he was staying in Rome.
The 54-year-old man, believed to be from Scotland, was pulled from the rubble after the two-storey building collapsed around 9am on Sunday.
According to Italian media reports, the tourist had been sightseeing in Rome since mid-March.
In a chilling coincidence, the man had posted on Facebook upon his arrival on March 17: “This should be a good week… if I don’t get killed in some ungodly way.”
The 54-year-old man, believed to be from Scotland, was pulled from the rubble after the two-storey building collapsed
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Witnesses described the moment of the explosion as terrifying.
“I was stopped at the traffic lights at the intersection when I heard an explosion. It was like a bomb, a terrifying bomb,” one witness told Rai television news.
A local resident named Liliana said: “It seemed like a bomb. The windows shook.”
Another resident added: “We were still in bed when we heard an insane bang. We quickly realised that it wasn’t a car crash or anything like that, but an explosion.”
Smoke was seen rising from the collapsed building in the Monteverde neighbourhood.
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A local resident named Liliana said: ‘It seemed like a bomb. The windows shook’
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Firefighters reported hearing desperate cries for help beneath the rubble – and spent nearly an hour trying to free the trapped tourist.
The man was rushed to Rome’s Sant’Eugenio Hospital with burns to 70 per cent of his body.
Roberto Gualtieri, the mayor of Rome, visited the scene of the devastation.
He said he was working with police and civil protection officials on an investigation into the incident.
Officials confirmed no one else was injured in the explosion.
“Initial findings seem to indicate that it was a gas leak, perhaps from a cylinder that exploded, causing very significant damage,” said Mayor Gualtieri.
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In a chilling twist, it has emerged that Italian author Roberto Saviano, who lives under police protection due to his book about Naples’s Camorra mafia, previously lived in the same property
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Engineers from Italgas, an energy firm, are assisting police with the investigation.
A spokesman for the company said initial checks showed the building’s gas meters were intact.
And in a chilling twist, it has emerged that Italian author Roberto Saviano, who lives under police protection due to his book about Naples’s Camorra mafia, previously lived in the same property.
Saviano clarified on Instagram that he no longer lived there, adding: “How heartbreaking to see rubble in a place where I loved to live.”
