An Italian man has died after being crushed to death by thousands of falling cheese wheels in his warehouse.
Giacomo Chiapparini, 74, was at the factory in Romano di Lombardia, about 45km east of Milan, on Sunday evening (local time) checking on a cheese-rotating robot when a shelf suddenly collapsed, The Telegraph reports.
The collapsed shelf caused a domino effect, sending other shelves toppling over and thousands of the cheese wheels with them, burying Chiapparini.
He was working alone at the time but another employee heard the noise and raised the alarm.
About 20 firefighters from nearby cities were involved in an hours-long search but his body was found the next morning.
Firefighter Antonio Dusi said rescuers had to "move the cheeses and the shelves by hand" — each wheel on the shelves is believed to weigh up to 40kg.
"It's a tragedy, a truly terrible death," Romani di Lombardia Mayor Sebastain Nicoli said.
"He was one of the great producers of Grana Padano (a hard cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano) in our area and a death like this is a big blow. His business was one of the largest in the region."
His daughter Mary Chiapparini said via the company's website that the family have been "producers of milk forever".
Police are investigating the incident and trying to find the cause of the collapsed shelf.
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