An Italian man has been crushed to death under thousands of wheels of a Parmesan-style cheese, authorities said.
Giacomo
Chiapparini, 74, was buried when a shelf broke in his warehouse in the
Lombardy region on Sunday, firefighter Antonion Dusi told AFP.
The collapse created a domino effect bringing down thousands of wheels, which weigh about 40kg (84lbs) each.
It took 12 hours to find Mr Chiapparini's body, Mr Dusi said.
Some
of the wheels reportedly fell about 10m (33ft) and a local resident
told Italian media the collapse sounded "like thunder".
The economic damage caused has been estimated at €7m (£6m).
Speaking
to Italian media, a neighbour described Mr Chiapparini as "very
supportive… and generous". They also said he lost a child decades ago.
The
warehouse, located in Romano di Lombardia, about 50km (31 miles) east
of Milan, contained a total of 25,000 wheels of Grana Padano, a hard
cheese which resembles Parmesan and is popular in Italy.