Brazilian worker electrocuted at site of World Cup stadium construction

SAO PAULO – A worker at a World Cup stadium in Brazil died Thursday in an electrical accident, temporarily interrupting construction at one of the most-delayed venues only five weeks before the soccer tournament.

Rosenil Moraes, head of emergency services in the western state of Mato Grosso, said the construction worker received an electric shock at the site of Arena Pantanal in the wetlands city of Cuiaba. He died more than half an hour later of a cardiorespiratory arrest.

The man is the eighth worker to die in accidents during the construction of stadiums for the world’s biggest soccer tournament, which begins on June 12. His death comes at a worrisome time as organizers rush to finish the last three stadiums ahead of the World Cup.

Moraes said paramedics tried to revive 32-year-old Muhammad Ali Maciel at the stadium, which is still missing seats because of delivery delays, but he didn’t make it. Maciel was working for a company called Etel Engenharia that is setting up the information and communication networks at the stadium.

World Cup organizers in Brazil could not be reached for immediate comment.

Moraes said the company is carrying out an investigation into what went wrong. She said the worker appeared to be using safety equipment when he suffered the electric shock.

It is the just latest accident to tarnish the World Cup preparations.

In 2012, a worker died at the construction site of the stadium in the nation’s capital, Brasilia. Three workers have died in the Itaquerao stadium in Sao Paulo in two separate accidents, and three have been killed from injuries suffered at the Arena da Amazonia in the jungle city of Manaus, including a 55-year-old Portuguese man who was trying to disassemble a crane when part of the machine hit his head.