A security guard at a construction site close to a venue for the 2026 Winter Olympics in the mountain town of Cortina d’Ampezzo passed away during a cold overnight shift, as authorities confirmed over the weekend. Italy’s Infrastructure Minister, Matteo Salvini, has called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the 55-year-old worker.
Reports from Italian media revealed that the incident took place on a chilly Thursday night while the worker was on duty at a construction site near Cortina’s ice arena. The temperatures that night plummeted to minus 12 degrees Celsius (10.4 degrees Fahrenheit). The organizing committee for Milan Cortina stated that the worker’s cause of death was a heart attack.
During a press briefing at a trial event at the new hockey arena in Milan, Andrea Varnier, the CEO of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, mentioned, “The information we have indicates that it was a natural death due to a heart attack. We are currently looking into the matter.” Varnier added, “All our records were in order, and we are awaiting the investigation results to determine the exact cause. As per the emergency services, the information we received suggests a death due to natural causes while the worker was on duty.”
The upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are set to take place from Feb. 6 to Feb. 22. Simico, the governmental body responsible for overseeing Olympic infrastructure, clarified that the construction site where the tragedy occurred was not under their supervision. The company expressed its sympathies in a statement. Officials in Cortina expressed deep sorrow and concern over the worker’s passing.