The first person to die while working onsite one of Qatar’s under-construction World Cup stadiums was a 29-year-old Nepali man named Anil Kumar Pasman, the main contractor on the project has confirmed.
Pasman died after being struck by a water tanker on the building site on Oct. 22, according to statements issued last night by Qatar’s tournament organizers and the joint venture responsible for building Al Wakrah stadium.
The JV comprises MIDMAC Construction Company, PORR Qatar and Six Construct Qatar. It said in a statement that Pasman was mistakenly struck by a heavy goods vehicle.
“It is believed he was out of sight of the driver, who was tragically unaware of his colleague’s close proximity,” the contractor said.
Emergency services were called, but Pasman died at the scene.
Work on the site was stopped while the death was investigated. But the investigation has now concluded and construction continues.
‘Tragic loss’
The contractor paid condolences to the family of Pasman, saying:
“All of the partners involved in this project are devastated by such a tragic loss of life and we extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Pasman’s family. All obligations towards Mr. Pasman’s family will be taken care of, allowing the family to focus solely on grieving for the tragic loss of their loved one.”
In a separate statement, Hassan Al Thawadi, secretary general of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SCDL), said lessons would be learned from the “heart-breaking” incident.
“The death of Mr Pasman is truly heart-breaking and my thoughts are with his family at what must be an extremely painful time. 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.”
Safety review
The SCDL said it had worked with the contractors to repatriate Pasman’s body and to ensure “all obligations towards the family have been met.”
It added that it is also collaborating with the JV to provide counseling to his colleagues, if required.
Safety procedures on the Al Wakrah site and all World Cup-related projects have been reviewed as a result of the incident, officials said.
Al Thawadi added:
“We will not accept complacency or a slip in standards on any of our projects. We will continue our commitment to ensuring the safety of the workers on our projects.
We will continue to be honest, open and transparent, whilst delivering on our promise to protect those helping us deliver our stadiums. Most importantly, we will learn from this tragic event in order to prevent any repeat in the future.”
First work-related death
Pasman was the first person to die from work-related injuries on a World Cup stadium.
Earlier this year, World Cup organizers announced that two Indian expats contracted on the stadiums had died in non-work related incidents.
One of them was a 52-year-old painter working on the Khalifa International Stadium site. He went into cardiac arrest during lunch at one of the site’s dining halls, and died in the hospital in October 2015.
And this January, a 55-year-old truck driver suffered a heart attack in his accommodation and later passed away.
Meanwhile, six individuals suffered serious injuries. These included a fractured ankle and the amputation of one worker’s fingertip after it became caught between two steel beams.
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