Worker Freezes to Death at Olympic Site

Pietro Zantonini, 55, succumbed to the extreme cold while on duty near the ice stadium in Cortina.

The incident occurred during the night last week as temperatures in the region plummeted to -12°C,  with wind chill making conditions feel as low as -17°C.

Zantonini, originally from Brindisi, was working a 12-hour overnight shift for a private security contractor.

Around 2:00 AM, Zantonini reportedly contacted colleagues to state he was feeling ill.

Emergency services arrived shortly after, but despite immediate resuscitation efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

While Zantonini had access to a small heated surveillance cabin, his duties required him to conduct outdoor reconnaissance rounds every two hours in the biting cold.

Italy’s Infrastructure Minister, Matteo Salvini, has called for a “full and rigorous investigation” into the circumstances of the death.

He said that workplace safety must remain the top priority even as construction schedules accelerate ahead of the styart of the Games on February 6th.

Simico, the governmental company responsible for Olympic infrastructure, expressed “deepest and most heartfelt condolences”.

It said the construction site was managed by a subcontractor and was not under its direct jurisdiction.

The family of the deceased has filed a formal complaint through legal counsel, seeking transparency regarding whether adequate protective measures and rest periods were provided.

A prosecutor in Belluno has ordered a post mortem to confirm if hypothermia or a cold-triggered medical event was the primary cause of death.

“To have a worker lose their life while protecting the sites of a global celebration of sport is a failure of the system,” said a representative for the Italian Union of Labour (UIL).

“We must ensure no workplace death is treated as an unavoidable event.”

Image © Milan-Cortina 2026

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