An Italian man has been crushed to death under thousands of wheels of a Parmesan-style cheese, authorities said.

Giacomo Chiapparini, 74, was buried when a shelf broke in his warehouse in the Lombardy region on Sunday, firefighter Antonion Dusi told AFP.

The collapse created a domino effect bringing down thousands of wheels, which weigh about 40kg (84lbs) each.

It took 12 hours to find Mr. Chiapparini's body, Mr Dusi said.

Some of the wheels reportedly fell about 10m (33ft) and a local resident told Italian media the collapse sounded “like thunder”.

The economic damage caused has been estimated at €7m (£6m).

Speaking to Italian media, a neighbour described Mr. Chiapparini as “very supportive… and generous”. They also said he lost a child decades ago.

The warehouse, located in Romano di Lombardia, about 50km (31 miles) east of Milan, contained a total of 25,000 wheels of Grana Padano, a hard cheese which resembles Parmesan and is popular in Italy. (BBC)