Man crushed to death by thousands of cheese wheels
Firefighters spent 12 hours removing wheels of cheese before they found the 74-year-old
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
An Italian man has been crushed to death by thousands of wheels of cheese.
It took Italian firefighters around 12 hours to find 74-year-old Giacomo Chiapparini, who was buried beneath countless wheels of parmesan-style hard cheese.
The incident occurred when a shelf broke in Mr Chiapparini’s warehouse as he was checking on the ripening wheels in the northern Lombardy region on Sunday.
Thousands of 40kg cheese wheels barreling on top of him as a result.
Firefighter Antonio Dusi told AFP the rescuers “had to move the cheeses and the shelves by hand” before finally finding the 74-year-old.
Located in the small town of Romano di Lombardia, the warehouse contained 25,000 wheels of grana padano.
The hard cheese is made from unpasteurised cows’ milk in copper cauldrons.
It goes through a specific and meticulous process of heating, breaking the curd and resting before it is extracted and molded into the iconic wheel. After more rigorous treatments such as salting, the cheese is left to dry and age for a minimum of nine months.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments