Money pit: Bank robber rescued after digging himself into a tight spot
A hapless Italian robber who became stuck for eight hours in a tunnel that was dug as part of an alleged attempt to raid a bank had to be rescued after his gang called the authorities for help.
The four-man band allegedly started excavating the tunnel from an abandoned shop near the Vatican in Rome but when a section of it under a road collapsed, one of them found himself trapped around 20ft underground.
A massive rescue operation was launched, with a large red digger gouging a huge hole in the road to allow around 30 firefighters and other specialists to access the tiny tunnel.
The more delicate phases of the excavation were done with shovels and the firefighters’ bare hands.
Local residents gathered to watch Thursday’s rescue operation in Via Innocenzo XI, which is named after a 17th century pope, Innocent XI.
As the digger gouged out chunks of soil and asphalt, firefighters used wooden boards and steel poles to shore up the edges of the hole.
The ordeal lasted for more than eight hours, until specialist rescuers were able to reach the man and pull him out alive, to the applause of onlookers.
As they worked to free the “mole man”, as one Italian newspaper dubbed him, they gave him oxygen to help his breathing.
They used similar techniques to those employed to save the survivors of the frequent earthquakes that strike Italy.
“Help, I beg you to get me out of here,” the man, in his 30s, reportedly told the rescue team. “I can’t hold out much longer.”
He was extracted from the tunnel and placed on a stretcher with a brace around his neck, at which point he asked for water – and a cigarette.
“Mamma, they’re pulling him out, you can see his feet,” said a child who watched the drama unfold from an overlooking balcony.
He was taken to hospital, where his condition was said to be not life-threatening.
“For hours he was imploring us to save him. It’s a miracle that he’s alive,” a rescuer told the newspaper Corriere della Sera. “It was a complex operation. The tunnel probably collapsed because of the sandy soil and perhaps because of all the rain we have had in the last few days.”
Weeks of searing temperatures in Italy have given way in recent days to violent thunderstorms and heavy downpours.
The three other members of the gang had raised the alarm by calling the emergency services number and leaving an anonymous message.
They tried to flee the area but were caught by Carabinieri. All four alleged members of the gang were reported to have previous convictions for theft and armed robbery.
Police believe they were digging the tunnel in order to reach one of two nearby banks, with the intention of robbing it in the next few days. One branch belongs to Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest bank, which was founded in 1472.
Italy celebrates its midsummer ferragosto holiday on Monday and the entire country grinds to a standstill, with banks and offices closed.
“For about a week I heard the sounds of a pneumatic drill coming from the empty shop during the evenings. I thought they were just renovating it. There was light coming from behind the shutters. Now I understand what was going on,” said Alessandro Quaranta, who runs a wine bar close to the empty shop.
