Five-storey building in Bari had been evacuated last year after being declared unsafe.

Firefighters in the southern Italian city of Bari on Thursday night pulled an elderly woman out alive from the rubble of a five-storey building, 24 hours after it collapsed.

The woman, 74, had been trapped under the rubble since the apartment block collapsed on Wednesday night, sparking a round-the-clock search by rescuers.

Dozens of firefighters focused their efforts on a specific area of the building whose 80 residents had been evacuated last year after authorities deemed it structurally unsafe.

The woman, who reportedly remained in her fourth-floor apartment despite the evacuation order, was found thanks to her mobile phone signal.

After she was pulled out alive from the rubble, rescuers and local residents broke into a long applause as the woman was transferred to hospital.

È vivaEstratta dalle macerie e affidata ai sanitari la donna dispersa. Eccezionale intervento dei #vigilidelfuoco a #Bari, emozionante l’applauso finale liberatorio della gente pic.twitter.com/L7QTPErHGu

— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) March 6, 2025

Despite the ordeal, the woman appeared to be in good health and had been kept alive due to an air pocket thanks to a security door that led to the attic.

"She was found inside the building, in the area of ​​the stairs, where we imagined she was" - Bari firefighter commander Rosa D'Eliseo told news agency ANSA - "She was taking the stairs to get out, she evidently sensed the danger and was running away."

The building, constructed in the 1950s and added to the 1970s, was evacuated more than a year ago after structural problems were detected in a damaged central pillar that suddenly gave way on Wednesday evening. Renovation works had got underway last week.

In addition to the woman, two families also lived on the first floor, perhaps illegally, reports state broadcaster RAI News: one was reportedly out of town at the time of the collapse, the other managed to escape as soon as they heard the walls creaking.

A passerby who witnessed the building collapse described it as "a scary, apocalyptic scene", telling RAI there was "dust everywhere, people screaming, running in every direction".

Photo Vigili del Fuoco