Brazil’s World Cup 2014 preparations have suffered a deadly set back after a crane collapsed and killed two workers at the Sao Paulo stadium that is due to host the tournament’s opening match.
Corinthians, the football club that will move into the new stadium, confirmed the deaths of Fabio Luiz Pereira and Ronaldo Oliveira dos Santos in a joint statement with Odebrecht, the constructors of the Itaquerão stadium.
According to a report by The Guardian, Odebrecht said that the crane that lifted the last part of the structure of the metal roof of the stadium collapsed shortly before 1PM on Wednesday, the 27th of November, 2013, during a routine operation to put the final section of the cover over the north stand.
The death toll was originally reported as three people, but was later revised down to two.
This latest revived concerns about the safety of infrastructure and the slow pace of construction, allegations of which have dogged Brazil for more than a year, the UK paper said.
Also known as the Arena Corinthians, the Itaquerão stadium will hold 70,000 spectators and is set to stage six FIFA World Cup 2014 matches, including the host nation’s opening fixture on the 12th of June, 2014. A semi-final match has also been pencilled in for the stadium.
The deadline, set by FIFA, for the completion of construction for the stadium is scheduled for December 2013.
Photographs by Brazilian media showed substantial damage to a perimeter wall. However, the joint statement released said that ‘the structure of the grandstand was not compromised’.
It added that “Teams of firemen are in place. At the moment all efforts are focused to provide full assistance to the families of the victims.”
Corinthians also announced that the club would respect seven days of mourning for the victims of the tragedy. Following the accident, the stadium was evacuated with, according to a report by globo.com, the rescue effort led by the fire department with ambulances and a military police helicopter on hand to help.
One construction worker, José Mario da Silva, told the Brazilian news website that “I had walked right underneath the crane on the way to lunch. If it hadn’t collapsed at lunchtime, a lot more people would have died.”
FIFA president Sepp Blatter released a tweet expressing his condolences about the loss of life at the stadium: “I’m deeply saddened by the tragic death of workers @Corinthians arena today. Our heartfelt condolences are with the families.”
Jérôme Valcke, FIFA’s general secretary, also tweeted: “Extremely shocked by the news from São Paulo. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims of this accident.”
He added: “We are currently awaiting further details from the authorities, who are investigating this tragic accident.”
A further statement from FIFA said: “FIFA and the LOC [local organising committee] have learnt of the death of workers at the Corinthians Arena site in São Paulo with great sadness. We wish to send our heartfelt condolences to the family of the workers who tragically died today.
“The safety of workers is the top priority for FIFA, the LOC, and the federal government. We know the safety of all workers has always been paramount for all the construction companies contracted to build the 12 FIFA World Cup stadiums.
“The local authorities will fully investigate the reasons behind such a tragic accident.”
As work began again on the stadium four days later, reports in Brazil revealed that the crane operator at the Sao Paulo stadium had told police via his attorney that he had noticed “nothing out of the ordinary ahead of the incident”.
Jose Walter Joaquim’s lawyer Carlos Kauffmann told the media that his client had given a one and a half statement to the authorities detailing his experience as the crane collapsed as it hoisted a 500t piece of roofing.
In a phone interview with the Associated Press Kauffmann said “he didn’t notice any problem. Because if he had noticed a problem, he wouldn’t have gone ahead with the operation. Everything was happening normally, completely normally.
AS CMME went to press the Brazilian police representatives revealed that they are pursuing three main causes of the accident: human error, crane failure and whether the crane had collapsed had given way following several days of rain.
Kauffmann stressed Joaquim’s experience, saying the 56-year-old had been operating cranes for 34 years and had already hoisted 37 similar pieces of roofing onto Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians without incident. The roofing structure that came crashing down last Wednesday was to be the final piece.
The deadline given to tournament organisers to have all the 12 stadiums completed and ready for operations is the 31st of December 2013. The Itaquerão stadium was 94% complete, according to reports. While it is set to miss that deadline, it is hoped the Itaquerão stadium will be completed by April just two months before the championship is set to begin.
As the investigation proceeds, there are now serious questions being asked about the rushed nature of Brazil’s preparations for the FIFA World Cup tournament. The crane collapse recalls the problems India faced when it prepared for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. A bridge collapse 12 days before the event injured 23 people and compounded accusations of rushed and poor workmanship. Qatar take heed.
Could it have been avoided?
A report from the Associated Press claims that a safety engineer at the Itaquerão stadium “allegedly warned his supervisor of possible problems with the operation, only to have his concerns brushed aside.”
Antonio de Sousa Ramalho, president of Sao Paulo’s civil industry workers’ association, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that supervisors pressed ahead with the operation to finish the roof despite several rainy days that soaked the soil. He said the engineer warned his supervisor that it appeared the ground was not stable enough to support the 500-ton piece of roofing.
“To his surprise, he was told by the supervisor that nothing was wrong and work should continue,” said Ramalho, who declined to provide the worker’s name for fear of possible reprisals. “They discussed the matter for a while but in the end the supervisor’s decision stood.”
Odebrecht, the powerful Brazilian construction company behind the stadium project and three other World Cup venues, strongly denied the claims, and a civil defense official said an initial inspection of the construction site a day after the accident showed no evidence the ground was unstable.
“Odebrecht and Sport Club Corinthians clarify that there was no warning previous to the accident,” the statement said. The company added that Ramalho’s union does not represent most of the workers involved in the crane operation.