Seventh Construction Worker Dies While Adding Seats To World Cup Opener Stadium

Brazilian authorities say the initial investigation into the accident that killed a worker at the Itaquerao stadium where the World Cup opener will take place was due to the lack of a required harness while the workers were installing 20,000 temporary seats to increase stadium capacity, according to Reuters.

The inaugural match between host Brazil and Croatia required the new stadium to increase its capacity to nearly 70,000 for the game, Reuters reported.

The worker died on Saturday, Fabio Hamilton da Cruz, fell about 26 feet while helping install some of the temporary seats at the stadium, marking the seventh death in accidents at World Cup venues in Brazil, according to Reuters.

Hamilton da Cruz's death marks the third at the Itaquerao stadium opening on June 12, Reuters reported. Two men died late last year when a crane collapsed while hoisting a 500-ton roofing structure.

Seven workers have died in accidents at construction sites of World Cup venues so far, according to Reuters.

The police official in charge of investigating the accident said initial witness accounts showed worker Cruz was not connected to his safety cable because he only had a "quick thing" to finish at the site, Reuters reported.

Construction company Fast Engenharia who are in charge of the installation of the temporary seats said in statements released after the accident that the worker was "trained" and "carried all the required safety equipment" for his work, according to Reuters.

Cruz, 23, sustained multiple traumas and severe head injuries and was pronounced dead just before he was expected to undergo surgery, according to Reuters.

Brazilian club Corinthians, which owns the most delayed stadium among all 12 World Cup Venue, declared a three-day mourning period but didn't stop construction at the site where the accident happened, Reuters reported.

FIFA and local World Cup organizers lamented the death said they will wait for results of the investigation, according to Reuters.

FIFA said before Saturday's accident that it was expecting the venue to be finished in mid-May, about a month before the opener and local organizers said the current timetable was not expected to change because of the worker's death, Reuters reported.

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