World Cup stadium in Cuiabá shut down after worker’s death

A stadium called Arena Pantanal, where a few World Cup matches are to be held, in the city of Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, was partially and temporarily shut down by the Ministry of Labor and Employment on Friday (May 9), due to an accident during which construction worker Muhammad’ Ali Maciel Afonso, 32, died. According to the Ministry, suspicions arose that he was electrocuted. All electric repair activities at the stadium have been halted until further notice.

Investigations into his death are being carried out by the Civil Police, but no conclusive report has been issued yet regarding what caused the accident. According to preliminary inspections, Maciel Afonso was electrocuted because security measures had not been taken.

Extraordinary World Cup Secretary in Mato Grosso Maurício Guimarães, in turn, said that “only after the investigation of the police and the forensics will we be able to know what really happened. The worker was wearing all the security equipment, but, of course, if any irregularity is confirmed, we’ll take action against the company.”

In a statement, the Extraordinary World Cup Secretariat in Mato Grosso (“Secopa-MT”) expressed expressing their grief over Maciel Afonso’s death “shortly before Arena Pantanal was to be inaugurated and after all the period of construction during which no accident of medium or high gravity had been reported.” Brazil’s Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo and Fifa’s Secretary-General Jérôme Valcke also showed his condolences to the victim’s family on the social media.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira