A security guard has frozen to death while working an overnight shift in the build-up to the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy next month.
Pietro Zantonini, 55, died while working at the ice rink in Cortina, d’Ampezzo, northern Italy – in temperatures that were at a freezing -16 degrees Celsius.
The incident took place around 2am on Friday morning. According to reports, Zantonini was carrying out overnight security duties at the site when he began to feel unwell and managed to contact colleagues to ask for help.
An alarm was raised, and an ambulance was sent to the scene, but despite the arrival of emergency services, he was pronounced dead.
Investigations since say he died of a heart attack as he collapsed in the snow.
Andrea Varnier, CEO of the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, told reporters: ‘The information we have is that it was a death by natural cause, it was a heart attack. And we are investigating.’
Pietro Zantonini has died while working as a security guard on the upcoming Winter Olympics
Investigations since say the 55-year-old died of a heart attack as he collapsed in the snow
Italy’s Infrastructure Minister, Matteo Salvini, has called for a ‘full and rigorous investigation’ into the death.
Prosecutors are investigating whether the death was solely linked to extreme cold or whether there were responsibilities connected to working conditions and shift organisation.
It has been detailed that Zantonini, originally from Brindisi, was working from a small guard booth heated only by a portable heater and was required to leave the shelter every two hours to carry out patrols of the construction area – conditions he had reportedly complained to his family about beforehand.
In an official statement, his family stated that he ‘was working a night shift outdoors in particularly harsh weather conditions and frequently complained about his working conditions.’
The infrastructure company Simico expressed condolences to the family while stating that the construction site was not under its direct responsibility and that it would await the outcome of official investigations.
The Winter Olympics is taking place between February 6 and 22.
