A TOURIST plunged to his death in front of his horrified daughter after losing his balance and falling from an iconic monument in Rome.
Japanese national Morimasa Hibino, 69, died after dropping from the Pantheon’s perimeter wall in the Italian capital, local media reported.
He is believed to have fallen from about 22ft at around 9:50pm local time.
A passerby priest alerted cops when he saw the man lying in a ditch, according to local newspaper the Republic.
Emergency services rushed to the scene, and – alongside firefighters – were forced to barge open a gate outside the landmark to reach the tourist.
But after attending to the man, authorities declared him dead at the scene.
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Police have launched a probe to investigate the full circumstances of the man’s death.
The man is said to have been sitting on the edge of the wall before losing his balance and dropping from a height, according to police.
Investigators have also obtained surveillance images and videos capturing the spot where the man was sitting, local media reports.
His heartbroken daughter told cops her dad fell after being overwhelmed by a sudden illness.
The world famous Pantheon is one of Italy’s most visited attractions – with millions of tourists flocking to it annually.
Friday’s tragedy is not the only death to have hit tourists in Rome this year.
In March, a 55-year-old woman from Spain died after falling from a high wall near the iconic Spanish Steps.
And in April, a Scottish tourist passed away after suffering severe burns from an explosion in Italy‘s capital.
Grant Paterson, 54, was caught up in a suspected gas explosion at a building he was staying at.
He had arrived in the city a few days before the horrifying ordeal.
And he had also visisted the Pantheon before his tragic death.
Rome has seen a boom in tourist numbers following the pandemic in 2020.
The holiday hotspot set a record last year when it hosted 22 million arrivals.