Brazil’s World Cup preparations suffered another blow yesterday after a construction worker died in an 8-metre-fall at the São Paulo stadium that will host the opening match between Brazil and Croatia on 12 June.
The worker, Fabio Hamilton da Cruz, died at a hospital after falling while installing temporary seating at the Corinthians Arena, Bloomberg reported.
Cruz’s death is the third at the $355 million venue, which is referred to as Itaquerão by some local media. His age and hometown weren’t disclosed.
Work at the stadium involves increasing seating capacity from 48,000 to 65,000.
The original cost of this ground was put at $152m but that rose to $355m after it was decided to hold the opening ceremony there.
On 27 November last year a crane collapsed killing two workers and wrecking a section of stand.
Even before the tragedy, work was not expected to finish by Fifa’s end-of-2013 deadline.
In a statement on its website FIFA said yesterday: “FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) deeply regret the death of worker Fabio Hamilton da Cruz following an accident which occurred today at the Arena de Sao Paulo. With great sadness we send our sincere condolences to the family and colleagues. For FIFA, the LOC and the Brazilian authorities safety is paramount. We are awaiting the official report from the authorities.”
