Worker dies during an extremely cold night, says report
A security guard has died during an overnight shift at a construction site near a 2026 Winter Olympic venue in Cortina d’Ampezzo, prompting calls for an investigation from Italian authorities, according to a report.
Authorities confirmed on Saturday that the 55-year-old worker died while on duty at a site near Cortina’s ice arena during a night of extreme cold, according to The Associated Press. Italian media reported that the incident occurred on Thursday, when temperatures dropped to “minus 12 degrees Celsius (10.4 degrees Fahrenheit).”
Investigation and site responsibility
Italy’s Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini has called for a full inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death. Salvini “called for a full investigation into the circumstances of the 55-year-old worker’s death,” The Associated Press reported.
The construction site where the guard was working is not one overseen by Simico, the government company responsible for Olympic infrastructure, the company said in a statement cited by AP. Simico expressed its condolences and clarified that the project was not under its remit, according to AP.
Cortina city officials said they were “deeply saddened and troubled by the death.”
Cortina d’Ampezzo, a mountain resort in northern Italy, is one of the host sites for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, scheduled for February 6–22, 2026. The town is set to host curling, sliding events and women’s alpine skiing during the Games, AP reported.
How cold affects workers
A cold environment challenges the worker in three ways: air temperature, air movement (wind speed), and humidity (wetness), according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).
“In order to work safely, these challenges have to be counterbalanced by proper insulation (layered protective clothing), physical activity, and controlled exposure to cold (work/rest schedule),” said CCOHS.
According to CCOHS, the risk of cold injuries and illnesses can be minimized by engineering controls, safe work practices, training and education, and appropriate clothing.
Engineering controls include:
- Providing radiant heaters at outdoor stations
- Providing heated warming shelters such as tents, cabins, or washrooms
- Shielding workstations from wind or drafts
- Insulating materials such as metal handles on equipment when working in below-freezing conditions
Administrative controls include:
- Having a buddy system so workers can look out for one another and help each other recognize the early symptoms of cold injuries and illnesses
- Pacing the work to avoid excessive sweating
- Allowing proper warming areas where workers can change into dry clothes if sweating cannot be avoided
- Giving new employees enough time to acclimatize to the cold and the protective clothing before assuming a full workload
- Providing warm liquids to workers
- Scheduling work that involves heavy physical activity during warmer parts of the day
- Rotating workers on tasks to decrease exposure to cold
- If working on board vessels, scheduling shifts away from stormy conditions when workers may fall overboard
Also, procedures for providing first aid and obtaining medical care should be outlined. “At least one trained person should be assigned the responsibility of attending to emergencies for each shift,” noted CCOHS.
Lastly, workers and supervisors who work in cold environments should be informed about symptoms of cold stress, proper clothing habits, safe work practices, physical fitness requirements for working in the cold, and emergency procedures in case of cold injury. They should also understand and look out for one another and be alert for the symptoms of cold injury, including hypothermia, according to the government agency.
