A suspected robber had to be rescued after being buried underground in a collapsed tunnel near the Vatican as his gang attempted to dig 20 feet into a bank.
The man was freed after eight hours as firefighters dug him out under Via Innocenzo XI in Rome after the asphalt gave way.
It is believed that the man and his four accomplices prepared to rob a nearby bank vault and dug the tunnel, which started at an empty shop, to reach it.
According to Italian media, one of his four alleged accomplices, who managed to escape the collapsed tunnel, alerted emergency services and firefighters heard a voice from beneath the rubble.
Rescuers then dug a parallel hole to free the man during the long recovery operation, shouting, “Help, I’m begging you to get me out.”
He was given liquid food and an oxygen bottle to help him breathe, and was eventually taken out alive as a large crowd cheered.
The man was then taken to hospital with critical but not life-threatening injuries, where he remains.
The man was rescued in an operation that lasted eight hours. He was given liquid food and an oxygen bottle to help him breathe, and was eventually taken out alive, pictured, as a large crowd cheered
Rescuers, pictured, dug a parallel hole to free the man during the lengthy recovery operation as he shouted: ‘Help, I beg you to get me out’
The man was then taken to hospital with critical but not life-threatening injuries. In the photo: the big rescue operation to free the man
Pictured: A map showing the tunnel’s location in central Rome, near the Vatican City. It started near a shuttered shop
Residents watched as the rescue took place. One resident said they had no idea anyone was digging a hole and there were no noises. In the photo: the team trying to save the man
Behind the police cordon and backhoe was a huge watching crowd who cheered as the man was finally freed by emergency services, pictured
A resident named Michelle, who lives in the same building, said, “We all thought the people there were renovating the place. So we weren’t suspicious and we didn’t hear any noises.’
A police spokesman said two people from Naples and two from Rome had been arrested for resisting an official and damage to public property.
They added: ‘We are still investigating. We don’t rule out the possibility that they are thieves; it’s one of the theories.’
An excavator and tent are seen in Rome as the rescue operation to get the man unfolded (photo)
Pictured: The tunnel from which the suspected bank robber was rescued. It started under an empty shop and was presumably built to reach a nearby vault
A large group of emergency services gathered to assist in the rescue attempt. Those involved in the suspected plot to rob a nearby bank have been arrested
An oxygen bottle, which was used for the man along with liquid food, is seen as firefighters worked to get him out of the tunnel, pictured
Although police have not confirmed that the men were digging for a robbery, Italian media have said it is likely that the men were. This is because Ferrogosto rises in Italy where many leave the city. They believe the men took advantage of the empty city to carry out the robbery. Pictured: The scene in Rome
But Italian media have noted that the tunnel was found ahead of the long weekend of August 15, when Rome is empty as residents traditionally leave the city for Ferragosto, and reported the hole was likely dug for a bank robbery.
Corriere della Sera wrote daily, “The hole gang,” while La Stampa said, “They dig a tunnel to rob a bank, and one of them is buried underground.”
And police told local media that the man, along with the four other gang members, had previous convictions for robbery.
The suspected bank robbers all have previous convictions for theft. Pictured: The equipment used for the rescue, including excavators and ropes
The man’s accomplices escaped from the collapsed tunnel. In the photo: the mass of police and emergency services in Rome
Excavators were used in the complex operation to free the man. A huge pile of earth can be seen next to the emergency services, in the photo