Two workers were killed on Wednesday when a crane collapsed at the stadium hosting the opening match of next year's World Cup of soccer, causing damage to the exterior and renewing questions about whether Brazil will be ready to host the event on time.
Construction workers had been racing to finish the stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil's biggest city, prior to a December deadline imposed by world soccer body FIFA.
Andres Sanchez, a former president for the Corinthians soccer club who is helping oversee construction, told reporters that a crane collapsed while lifting a piece of the stadium's roof into place, sending the piece tumbling down.
He said the cause of the accident was still unclear, adding that any possible delay to construction was "the least of our worries."
Odebrecht SA, the industrial conglomerate building the stadium, said it planned to restart work at the site on Monday, but the union representing the workers said construction could be frozen for up to 30 days while authorities investigate.
Two workers at the site were killed, Sanchez said, with no additional casualties.
We are currently awaiting further details from the authorities, who are investigating this tragic accident," Valcke added.
Delays surrounding the World Cup have extended well beyond stadiums. Numerous public transportation projects have been canceled or shelved, and workers have toiled 24 hours a day, seven days a week to finish a new terminal at Sao Paulo's international airport on time.
Six stadiums were used in the Confederations Cup warm-up tournament in June, but several of them were delivered later than FIFA wanted.
Another six, including Itaquerão, are due to be delivered by the end of December but even then some work will remain. Itaquerão, which was due to be finished on schedule, did not plan to install 20,000 temporary seats until February.
The accident also casts further scrutiny on Brazil's building standards after a death and injuries in construction projects earlier this year. One stadium also faces an 18-month closure to repair flaws in the roof.
Source: Reuters
