Jewish leader trapped overnight in Auschwitz

Riccardo Pacifici, President of Rome's Jewish Community Credit: Reuters

The leader of Rome's Jewish community was forced to escape from Auschwitz through a window last night after he and a TV crew were locked in during a live anniversary broadcast.

Riccardo Pacifici realised he and the crew were locked in the former Nazi concentration camp at around 11:00 last night after transmitting a live episode of a TV show.

After several hours without any response to their calls for help, they escaped through a window, setting off a security alarm which sent police to the scene.

Credit: Newspix/ABACA/Press Association Images

Mr Pacifici took to Twitter to express his frustration at the incident and his experience of the local police, but has since posted a message of gratitude to the Italian President for apparently telephoning him.

The mix-up happened on the day that more than 1,500 people gathered at the camp in Poland, including 300 survivors, to remember the Holocaust on the 70th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation.