CNN
—
A man rescued from the rubble of a collapsed tunnel in Rome has been accused of digging it as part of an elaborate bank robbery.
Local police said Friday they suspect the man was part of a group of four who allegedly planned to carry out a robbery this weekend, when the Italian capital will be relatively quiet due to the Ferragamo public holiday.
The press service of the Carabinieri police told CNN that officers arrived at the collapsed tunnel on Thursday after receiving a report that a person was trapped under the rubble.
Shortly after their arrival, they arrested two people suspected of trying to flee the area in a car, and separately a fourth person.
Rescuers spent eight hours freeing the sick man, who remains under medical supervision at San Camillo Hospital in Rome.
Carmine Pascarosa, the attorney representing the two men arrested in the car, told CNN that they were charged with resisting arrest and are not currently being investigated for other crimes.
He said the two men denied involvement with the man rescued from the rubble. According to Pascarosa, the two men said they were driving by the area “by accident” when the man asked them for help and took them to an empty store where the tunnel entrance was located.
As soon as they realized what had happened, they called for emergency services before leaving the scene, he added.
Pascarosa confirmed that an investigation is underway into a fourth person who has been charged along with the victim in connection with the tunnel collapse.
