A bank robber who apparently has no knowledge of physics nearly died when the tunnel he was digging into a Rome bank basement collapsed near the Vatican. The robber’s accomplices, who escaped the tunnel, alerted police when the ringleader didn’t surface after dirt came crashing down midway through the dig. Firefighters spent eight hours working to free the man by digging a parallel tunnel. The would-be thief could be heard crying for help. “I beg you, get me out!” he yelled as rescuers dropped liquid food and oxygen to him. After eight hours, the man was freed as the crowd that had gathered cheered. The man and his accomplices—who all had previous robbery convictions—face new charges. Police say they had been digging the tunnel with the intent to break the bank wall on the Aug. 15 holiday, when the city is largely deserted.