Tragic Accident: Elderly Italian Farmer Crushed by Avalanche of Cheese Wheels
A 74-year-old Italian dairy farmer, Giacomo Chiapparini, was tragically killed when thousands of hard parmesan-style cheese wheels collapsed on top of him in his cheese warehouse in Lombardy, Italy. The accident occurred when a metal shelf holding the 90lb wheels of grana padano cheese buckled, causing a domino effect. It took rescuers 12 hours to dig through the fallen cheese wheels to find Chiapparini's body. The cause of the accident is under investigation, but it is suspected that a machine used to clean the cheese may have malfunctioned. The economic damage is estimated at $7.7 million, and Chiapparini's family is now racing against time to salvage the remaining cheese before it spoils in the summer heat.