Italian cheesemaker Giacomo Chiapparini, 74, died on Sunday night after being crushed by thousands of pieces of Grana Padana cheese in the maturation room of his factory in Bergamo, northern Italy, according to city police.
Chiapparini had gone into the ripening room to check out the automatic robot used to clean the pieces of cheese during the ripening process in his company’s warehouse on the farm where he and his family lived and worked.
At the time of the tragedy, there were about 10 aisles of floor-to-ceiling shelves with about 1,600 pieces of cheese per aisle. It’s unclear what caused the initial collapse that led to what authorities describe as a “ripple effect” that led to the cheesemonger’s death.
Police officials, along with the fire department and two ambulance services, and other local authorities say they were called to the scene around 9pm on Sunday night. It took more than 11 hours to find Chiapparini’s body under the pieces of cheese.
The man was identified by his family, who live and work at the cheese factory, the police spokesman said. His funeral takes place this Thursday.
Chiapparini’s Grana Padana cheese factory was founded in the late 1970s and produces around 15,000 rounds of grana padana cheese a year with milk from cows raised at the factory, according to the company’s website. The cheese has a maturation period of between 12 and 70 months.
See also: End of mystery! Zoo in England confirms Chinese bear is real
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
