This is the moment a medieval tower being renovated in the centre of Rome collapsed, leaving a worker in hospital with serious injuries and trapping another under rubble.
The 29-metre Torre dei Conti collapsed at least twice, according to footage of the incident, sending clouds of dust billowing out of the windows, along with the sound of collapsing masonry.
Firefighters were tirelessly working to pull a trapped worker from the rubble on Monday afternoon but were facing a “complex” situation as they tried to stop the building from collapsing further.
Regional President Francesco Rocca told reporters in Italy that one worker was in hospital, but not in a life-threatening condition, while two more workers suffered minor injuries and declined hospital treatment.
Rome's top law enforcement official, Prefect Lamberto Giannini, said there were "signs of life" from the trapped worker, and that firefighters had managed to give him some protective cover during an earlier rescue attempt.
Giannini called the situation "very complex" and said that other equipment was being brought in.
"It will be a very long operation. We must try to save this person while mitigating the enormous risks to the people who are trying to save him.”
The landmark stands near one of the Eternal City's tourist hotspots. It is located halfway along the Via dei Fori Imperiali, the broad avenue that leads from central Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum.
The second collapse had taken place while firefighters were working on the structure with aerial ladders in front of hundreds of tourists.
The building was still standing, but showing significant internal damage.
The site once hosted city hall offices but has not been in use since 2006 and was being worked on as part of a four-year renovation project due to end next year, according to Rome city authorities.
Due to the restoration work, the area around the tower was closed off to pedestrians.
Queen Paglinawan was working in a nearby gelato parlor when she heard the two loud noises from the town in quick succession.
"I was working and then I heard something falling, and then I saw the tower collapse in a diagonal way," Paglinawan, 27, said as yet another collapse occurred in the background.
German student Viktoria Braeu passed by the scene just as the partial collapse during the firefighters' rescue occurred.
"We were just at the Colosseum - and we were just walking to get some food. - And then we were like, `It's probably not long until it's going to go down,' and then it just started erupting," said Braeu, 18.
The building was erected by Pope Innocent III for his family in the early 13th century, and was originally twice as high, but was scaled down after damage from earthquakes in the 14th and 17th centuries.
