Football
Associated Press 7y

British man dies on 2022 World Cup stadium site in Qatar

Organisers of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar say a British man has died working at a stadium that will be a venue for the event.

The organisers say the unnamed 40-year-old man died on Thursday working at Khalifa International Stadium, which is due to stage games up to the quarterfinal stage in 2022.

A statement from Qatar read: "The relevant authorities have been notified and the next of kin has been informed. An immediate investigation into the cause of this fatality is underway and further details will be released in due course.

"The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy shares our deepest condolences with the family for their loss."

The company overseeing the building, a joint venture between Belgian and Qatari firms, said the man fell, though it was still working with local authorities to establish the cause of Thursday's death.

"The fatal accident took place while the worker was on a suspended catwalk platform designed to manage technical functions relating to sound and light installations,'' Midmac-Six Construct said in a statement on Friday.

"For unknown reasons one of the lever hoists supporting the platform failed, causing the fall of the worker, who was wearing all his safety equipment, including the safety harness.

"Sadly, the harness was cut during the fall with a fatal outcome. What caused the cut is subject to further investigation."

The multi-purpose venue in Doha -- the current home of the Qatar national team -- is being extended from its current capacity of 40,000 to 68,000 and will host the 2019 World Athletics Championships.

Qatar has previously announced the death of four stadium workers, with one fatality the result of a work-related accident.

The focus of the scrutiny has been on Qatar's use of a low-paid, migrant workforce to build the sites for the first World Cup in the Middle East, but the organisers are also relying on expertise from Europeans to oversee projects.

FIFA, which awarded the World Cup to Qatar in a 2010 vote, said it "deeply regrets the loss of life" at the stadium.

"It is with great sadness that we send our sincere condolences to the victim's family and colleagues," FIFA said in a statement.

Information from the Press Assocation was used in this report.

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