Features
Another Italian Stage Death
Matteo Armelini, 32, a rigger working in preparation for Laura Pausini’s concert in Reggio Calabria March 5, died after parts of the rigging fell and reportedly crushed him.
Two others helping secure the lighting rig for the central portion of the three-stage set received minor injuries.
Italian rocker Jovanotti was forced to cancel his Dec. 12 show in Trieste when its stage collapsed, killing a construction worker.
Pausini’s show, which was being promoted by Ferdinando Salzano’s F&P Group, was pulled as the Reggio Calabria public prosecutor’s office opened an inquiry and placed the entire structure under judicial seizure.
Local news reports suggest the lighting rig collapsed on one side and fell forward onto the front rows of the seating.
Investigators working in the sealed-off area are focusing on whether the accident was caused by a failure of the venue’s flooring, the structural elements themselves, or an error in the structure’s assembly.