In a devastating incident in the Lombardy region of Italy, a 74-year-old man, Giacomo Chiapparini, lost his life when a shelf collapsed in his warehouse. The catastrophic collapse resulted in thousands of wheels of Grana Padano cheese, each weighing about 40kg (84lbs), toppling over in a domino effect.
The unfortunate accident took place in Romano di Lombardia, approximately 50km (31 miles) east of Milan. It reportedly took a grueling 12 hours for rescue teams to locate Mr. Chiapparini’s body amidst the massive pile of cheese wheels.
Witnesses described the scene as catastrophic, with some of the wheels falling from a height of about 10 meters (33ft), producing a sound likened to thunder. The economic impact of the incident has been estimated at €7 million (£6 million).
A neighbor of Mr. Chiapparini remembered him as a caring and generous individual, who had also experienced the tragedy of losing a child decades ago. Grana Padano is a popular hard cheese in Italy, resembling Parmesan, and the warehouse housed a total of 25,000 wheels of this delicacy.
The local authorities are investigating the cause of the shelf’s collapse to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragic event.
