Qatar says stadium health safety enhanced after worker dies

Anil Kumar Pasman from Nepal was killed while working on the Al Wakrah Stadium last month

Builders at work on the construction of a new office site in Qatar (Getty)

Qatar's investigation into the death of a worker on a 2022 World Cup stadium construction site has led to "extended over-sight" of health and safety procedures, officials said Wednesday.

The man, who organizers have said was the first to die in a work-related accident, was named Wednesday as Anil Kumar Pasman from Nepal. He was 29 when he was killed while working on Al Wakrah Stadium last month.

Pasman was hit by a water tanker whose driver "was tragically unaware of his colleague's close proximity" and out of sight, the stadium's contractors and World Cup organizers said.

"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," said Hassan Al Thawadi, secretary general of the World Cup organizing committee.

"We will learn from this tragic event in order to prevent any repeat in the future," he added.

The tiny, gas-rich country is relying on its large workforce of Asian laborers to build stadiums and related infrastructure for the first World Cup in the Middle East.

AP