A tourist visiting Rome was impaled by a spiked fence in front of the Colosseum and left dangling from it for more than 20 minutes after climbing the structure on Friday.
The 47-year-old man — an American citizen who is also a resident of Taiwan — was left “skewered” on metal spikes for over 20 minutes, screaming in pain, as horrified onlookers observed the dramatic scene, according to a report by Il Messaggero.
The tourist’s screams eventually ended as “he lost consciousness and remained lifeless, hanging from the railing” after “losing a lot of blood,” the Italian newspaper added.
Witnesses immediately alerted emergency workers, who arrived minutes later at the metal fence near the archaeological area of the Colosseum at around 5:00 p.m. Rome time to pull the man from the spikes.
An ambulance, the carabinieri, and other emergency personnel reportedly showed up in Piazza del Colosseo to find the man — whose identity has not been released — hanging on the metal fence, which had pierced the base of the spine, causing “a deep wound that did not allow the tourist to move.”
The tourist — who is now hospitalized in serious condition — was given sedatives “to make it possible to free him from the railing,” Il Messaggero reported.
“It was not a simple maneuver,” the Italian newspaper added, noting that the whole ordeal “lasted more than 20 minutes,” which kept “the rescuers, the paramedics, and also the carabinieri busy.”
The man was stabilized and a tight bandage was applied to the wound to prevent hemorrhaging. He was then loaded on a stretcher and taken to San Giovanni Addolorata Hospital as sirens blared.
In the emergency room, “the red code had been triggered for him” as doctors administered oxygen and conducted surgery that resulted in the tourist receiving more than 80 stitches, Il Messaggero explained.
The man was then hospitalized and kept under observation, with medical staff determining that same evening that the tourist was “out of danger,” the Italian newspaper reported.
It remains unclear why the man climbed the fence, although Italian outlets surmise the tourist could have been trying to take a photo or get a better look at the historic landmark.
The man was reportedly unable to speak for hours after Friday’s incident, but was questioned by law enforcement on Sunday.
Friends of the injured tourist were also interviewed by the carabinieri, and were reportedly unable to give a reasonable explanation as to why the man climbed the fence.
“It was terrible,” an eyewitness told Il Messaggero. “I saw that man was impaled on a fence, and he could not free himself.”
While the tourist has not been charged by authorities, it is possible he could face some form of punishment, as tampering with or damaging historical sites or monuments in Rome is strictly prohibited.
In 2023, Italy’s culture and tourism ministers vowed to find and punish a tourist who was caught carving his and his apparent girlfriend’s names into a wall on the Colosseum, a crime that has previously resulted in hefty fines.
In 2014, a Russian tourist who was caught carving his name into a section of brickwork on the Colosseum was slapped with a €20,000 fine, CNN reported.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
Read the full article here