Italian emergency services were racing against the clock on Monday to rescue a Romanian worker trapped for hours under rubble following the partial collapse of a medieval tower in central Rome, near the Colosseum, Reuters reports.

According to Luca Cari, a spokesman for Rome's fire department, the rescue efforts were proving difficult because the structure had become unstable.

Parts of the 29-metre Torre dei Conti crashed to the ground on at least two occasions, videos posted on social media and Reuters footage showed. The first took place at around 1030 GMT, the second about 90 minutes later, and it was that second collapse that trapped the worker, Mr. Cari said. The second incident happened while firefighters were working on the structure with aerial ladders.

A second worker, also Romanian, was pulled out immediately and hospitalised with serious but not life-threatening head injuries, while two more workers suffered minor injuries and declined hospital treatment, Reuters said.

Photo credit: Massimo Percossi / EPA

They were all part of a team conducting restoration work on the tower, which had been used in modern times for municipal offices until 2006. Built in the 13th century by Pope Innocent III for his family, the structure had fallen into a state of 'total abandonment' in recent years, and nearly 7 million euros had been allocated for its restoration. It was originally twice as high, but was scaled down after damage from earthquakes in the 14th and 17th centuries.

'We have the confirmation that two Romanians were injured in this regrettable incident, a 48-year-old and a 66-year-old, both are conscious and communicating. Colleagues of ours are present to provide consular assistance and communication with the Italian authorities both at the hospital, where the first rescued Romanian worker was transported, and at the scene where the situation remains critical with the Romanian worker still trapped under the rubble. The work of the firefighters is vital at this moment,' Foreign Minister Oana Toiu wrote on Facebook. AGERPRES (EN - editing by: Simona Klodnischi)