A giant crucifix erected in honor of Pope John Paul II collapsed and fatally crushed an Italian man during a ceremony ahead of the late pope's canonization, Agence France-Presse reported.
21-year-old Marco Gusmini was crushed to death on the spot, with another injured, after the 98-foot high wooden cross toppled over during the event near the Alpine village of Cevo.
The installation, near the town of Cevo, was designed as a large curved cross with a statue of Jesus Christ, weighing 1,320lb, fixed to the top, BBC News reported.
"It is an inexplicable tragedy. A young life, so many hopes, destroyed this way," Cevo mayor Silvio Citroni said.
"The boys ran in every direction when they heard the sound of the wood splintering. Unfortunately, that poor boy went the wrong way," he said, adding that further celebrations to mark the pope's elevation to sainthood had been cancelled.
Due to a minor motor disability, Gusmini might have had a delayed reaction to the falling cross, Italian media reports said.
The accident happened just three days before John Paul II is declared a saint in the Vatican, along with Italian-born pope John XXIII.
"According to the Corriere della Sera daily, Gusmini coincidentally lived with his family on a street named after John XXIII," AFP reported.
The Jesus Christ statue was designed by sculptor Enrico Job and was created for John Paul II's visit to Brescia in the Lombardy region in northern Italy in 1998. In 2005, it was installed in a picturesque spot near the village of Cevo.
"The news has really shaken me. My thoughts go to the poor boy and his family," Job's widow, film director Lina Wertmuller, told Ansa news agency.
"That cross was a great symbol for Italy, a symbol of protection. But all that seems silly in the face of this terrible tragedy," she said.
