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A 47-year-old male American tourist accidentally impaled himself on a spiked fence while trying to pose for a photograph at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, per reports. The unnamed tourist has survived and required over 80 stitches in surgery.
According to reports out of Italy, the unnamed American tourist was found found hanging on the metal bars at the Piazza del Colosseo, piercing his spine, on Friday, May 2, after trying to climb a fence for a photo op. He was reportedly impaled for 20 minutes and it took medical teams another 20 minutes to remove him.
“It was terrible. I saw that man impaled on a railing and he couldn’t free himself,” an eyewitness told Italian media.
The tourist, who reportedly lives in Taiwan, has not been officially charged, although Italian officials are exploring potential penalties for tampering a with historic landmark, a major if not criminal offense in Italy (which famously has a lot of historic landmarks across the country, but particularly in Rome).
“The man was reportedly stuck on the fence screaming in pain for over 20 minutes before paramedics reached him. The medics ultimately gave him a sedative so they could carefully maneuver him off the bars, Il Messaggero, reported. It took the team more than 20 minutes to detach the man from the spike, which resulted in him losing a large amount of blood.”
“The man was unable to speak for several hours after the incident, but was questioned by law enforcement on Sunday. Though there are no definitive answers as to how the horrific scene occurred, officials know that the tourist was on vacation in the city for several days with family and friends.” [via PEOPLE]
After he was removed from the metal spike and stabilized, medics took the victim to a hospital near San Giovanni to undergo surgery, in which he received over 80 stitches. Following his recovery, the tourist was questioned by authorities on Sunday, May 4.