A 55-year-old security guard has died while working an overnight shift at a construction site near a 2026 Winter Olympic venue in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The death occurred on Thursday as temperatures dropped to -12C (10.4F), according to Italian media reports.
Italy’s Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini has called for a full investigation into the circumstances of the worker’s death. The construction site is near Cortina’s ice arena, one of the venues for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics scheduled for 6-22 February 2026.
The governmental company Simico, responsible for Olympic infrastructure, confirmed the site was not under its oversight and expressed condolences. Cortina city officials said they were “deeply saddened and troubled by the death.”
The Milano Cortina Games will be the most spread-out Winter Olympics, with events in Cortina, Milan, Livigno, and Predazzo. The opening ceremony, held at Milan’s San Siro stadium, will feature performances by tenor Andrea Bocelli and pop diva Mariah Carey, with segments broadcast from three other locations to include athletes from all disciplines.
The ceremony will also include a tribute to the late Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died in September at age 91.
