Fabio Hamilton da Cruz, a worker participating in construction on the 2014 World Cup’s opening venue, has passed away from head injuries suffered Saturday at the site in Sao Paulo. After suffering a significant fall while installing seats at the venue, da Cruz was pronounced dead at a local hospital, according to the Associated Press.
According to a statement issued by da Cruz’s employer, the worker fell about 26 feet while working on temporary seating designed to expand the venue’s capacity for mid-June’s World Cup opener. According to others on the scene, the height was closer to 50 feet.
Da Cruz was taken to Santa Marcelina Hospital where he was to undergo surgery for his injuries. Just before the procedure, however, he was pronounced dead. Neither the hospital nor his employed released da Cruz’s age.
The passing increases the number of fatalities during construction at the Itaquero Stadium to three, with a late 2013 incident at the same site costing two workers their lives. That accident, where a 500-ton piece of the stadium caused a crane to collapse, also halted construction at the site. The venue is currently expected to be ready in May, far behind its original delivery date.
Across all 12 World Cup venues, Brazil’s seen eight workers die while working on new facilities. Though each stadium was supposed to be finished by the end of 2013, three sites remain unfinished.
Some have speculated the inability to complete those sites has created an incentive to rush the remaining work. There’s no indication that’s happening, let alone was a factor in today’s death, but it has increased scrutiny of how the projects are being managed.
With an eighth person passing away, that scrutiny’s unlikely the wane. Given the tragic accident that Fabio Hamilton da Cruz suffered today, it’s best the spotlight stay on what’s happening in Brazil.