A Scottish tourist wrote an eerie Facebook post just days before suffering severe burns when a gas explosion destroyed his three-storey B&B in Rome.
Grant Paterson, 54, from East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, suffered serious injuries when the B&B in Monteverde, Rome, exploded around 8.30 am on Saturday.
He was pulled out of the ruins conscious but is believed to have suffered third-degree burns to 75% of his body, according to local news reports.
Mr Paterson is understood to be receiving treatment at Sant’Eugenio Hospital in the city.
Social media posts revealed the Scotsman arrived in Rome last week for a holiday and had visited famous sites such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon before the explosion.
He wrote: ‘Arrived in Rome, trains, planes, buses and foot… Accommodation is beautiful. This should be a good week … if I don’t get killed in some ungodly way…’
Mr Paterson had also posted about his visit to the Pantheon days before the accident, writing: ‘Genuinely a dream fulfilled….. I have wanted to see the Pantheon since I was a child. So, so chuffed.’
Wellwishers have flooded his Facebook comments, with one local writing: ‘May you heal as soon as possible and may this story be just a bad memory, and you will return to our beautiful Rome and we will welcome you with open arms.’
Another added: ‘I live in Rome and this terrible news saddens me very much. Mr Paterson was so relaxed and happy.
‘I hope it’s strong, surely Italian doctors will do everything to give him the best help possible.’
Roberto Gualtieri, the Mayor of Rome, visited the scene and told reporters he ordered a full investigation into the explosion.
He said: ‘The important thing is that fortunately there are no victims, although unfortunately one person was seriously injured.
‘It was a very loud explosion, a building collapsed and the wall of Villa Pamphili was also damaged.’
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British man who has been hospitalised in Italy and are in contact with the local authorities.’
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