Guard at Winter Olympics construction site dies in subzero temperatures

A security guard for the 2026 Winter Olympics has died, authorities confirmed Saturday (January 10).

According to a CBS Reportthe guard was working night shift on a construction site at an Olympic venue in Cortina, Italy, when he died in freezing weather.

Milan Cortina organizers said the official cause of death was a heart attack.

“The information we have indicates that it was a death of natural causes, a heart attack. And we are investigating,” Andrea VarnierCEO of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, told reporters during a test event in Milan’s new hockey arena.

She continued: “All the documentation we have was in order. And we are waiting for the investigation to understand what the precise cause was. At the moment the information we have from the emergency services is that it was a death caused by natural causes… while he was on scene.”

Italian media reported that the unnamed 55-year-old man died on Thursday (January 8) while on duty outside the rink. Temperatures reportedly fell to 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit overnight.

The Italian Minister of Infrastructure, Matteo Salviniwould have requested a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the worker’s premature death.

The 2026 Winter Olympics are scheduled to begin with the Opening Ceremony on Friday, February 6 and conclude on Thursday, February 22.

Cortina city officials said they were “deeply saddened and disturbed by this death.”

The Olympic rink has been at the center of controversy since it was announced in November that construction of the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, which is expected to host hockey at the Olympics, was behind schedule, raising doubts about its ability to be ready when the 2026 games begin in February.

Chief Officer of the Winter Games Andrea François said the Associated Press that “there’s no plan B” if the arena isn’t ready, but he’s confident it will be.

“We must therefore necessarily be able to organize the competition impeccably in Santagiulia,” he said in an article published on November 29.

The arena is scheduled to host its first Olympic competition – a women’s preliminary round – on Thursday, February 5, the day before the opening ceremony.

On Friday January 9, the arena hosted its first test event, which was delayed in the first half after a hole formed in front of one of the goals, according to The Athletic.

Despite the complexity of the game time, Scott SalmondHockey Canada’s senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations told the outlet he was “excited about it” while acknowledging the challenges.

“The games are going to be great,” Salmond said. “Like every Olympics, there are challenges with what happens outside of the game, but we’re Canadian. People grew up in small towns and small rinks, outdoor rinks. We can adapt to all those things. The most important thing is we can play in a rink, families can come watch it and people around the world will be able to watch it.”