World Cup 2014: Construction worker dies in fall at Manaus stadium where England will play Italy next year

Marcleudo de Melo Ferreira fell to his death, becoming the latest to suffer fatal injuries in the construction of the World Cup stadiums in Brazil

Manaus Stadium (GETTY IMAGES)

Fifa have confirmed a construction worker has fallen nearly 35 metres to his death at the World Cup stadium in Manaus where England are scheduled to play their group match against Italy next year.

Marleudo de Melo Ferreira died in hospital after plummeting nearly 35 metres off the roof of the Arena Amazonia stadium on Saturday. The incident at the Arena Amazonia arose after a cable broke, and comes as the latest fatality to occur in the construction of the stadiums in Brazil.

A statement read: “Fifa and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) learnt of the death of the worker on Saturday at the Arena Amazonia site with great sadness.

“We would like to send our most sincere condolences to his family, relatives, colleagues and friends.”

Two workers were killed when a crane collapsed at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo last month, with the stadium suffering a major setback in the race to be completed in time to host the opening match of the 2014 World Cup on June 12.

The death of 22-year-old Ferreira takes the number of stadiums to suffer a fatality during its construction to three out of the 12 scheduled to host matches during next summer’s tournament, while another died at Palmeiras arena in Sao Paulo which will not be used, although Fifa have insisted that the competition will remain in the South American country despite fears over safety and local opposition to the tournament organisers.

Apart from the recent World Cup draw in which England were grouped with Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica, the build-up has been dominated by delays, accident, public anger and rioting over the cost of the tournament, which eventually led to nationwide protests during the Confederations Cup during the summer.

The Brazilian firm Andrade Gutierrez, responsible for building the stadium in Manuas which is situated in the Amazonian region of Brazil, has said in a statement that Ferreira worked for a company that had been contracted by them to build the arena roof, and confirmed that a full internal investigation would be launched.

Current plans have Manaus scheduled to host four matches during the World Cup, including England’s opening match with the Italians.