A would-be thief was rescued from a tunnel he dug to reach a bank in Rome he was said to be robbing on Thursday, officials believe.
The suspect was buried about 20 feet underground after a road collapsed on him near the Vatican, according to The Guardian.
An eight-hour rescue began after one of the victim’s four suspected cohorts fled the tunnel and called authorities, the outlet reported.
“Help, I’m asking you to get me out,” the crook was reportedly heard pleading to first responders from under the rubble.
After being given liquid food and a can of oxygen, the man was eventually pulled out alive to enthusiastic applause from a crowd that had gathered to watch the strange scene. According to the report, he was hospitalized in critical condition.
Four other suspects have been charged in connection with the tunnel excavation, which was said to reach the vault of a nearby bank, the newspaper reported. All five men had previously been arrested for robbery.
The rescue took eight hours and left the suspect in critical condition.AP
The unidentified man was trapped about 20 feet underground. Vigili del Fuoco/AFP via Getty I
The crook team had planned to carry out the heist in Ferragosto on the Italian feast Monday, when banks are closed and the normally busy capital is largely deserted, according to the article.