Qatar says safety enhanced after death of worker at stadium site

Doha: Qatar’s investigation into the death of a worker on a 2022 World Cup stadium construction site has led to “extended over-sight” of health and safety procedures, officials said on Wednesday.

The man, who organisers have said was the first to die in a work-related accident, was named on Wednesday as Anil Kumar Pasman from Nepal. He was 29 when he died while working on the Al Wakrah Stadium project last month.

Pasman was hit by a water tanker whose driver “was tragically unaware of his colleague’s close proximity” since he was out of sight, the stadium’s contractors and World Cup organisers said.

“This tragedy serves as a profound reminder there is always more to be done — no matter how far we have come in terms of implementing health and safety on our sites,” said Hassan Al Thawadi, secretary general of the World Cup organising committee.

“We will learn from this tragic event in order to prevent any repeat in the future,” he added.

Qatar is relying on a large workforce of Asian labourers to build stadiums and related infrastructure for the first World Cup in the Middle East.