Reports emerging from Brazil yesterday evening have said that two people have died in Sao Paulo as a result of an accident during the construction of the Arena Corinthians stadium which is to host the opening game of the 2014 World Cup next June.

It was confirmed that a crane fell across the metallic structure at the Arena Corinthians stadium which is still under construction and caused a large part of the roof to collapse to the ground. The construction company that were in charge of the construction of the new stadium, Odebrecht, had confirmed earlier in November that the venue was 94% completed.

The final part of the stadium roof, covering the north stand, was being installed on Wednesday when the tragedy occurred. Fifa released a statement last night saying “Fifa and the LOC have learnt of the death of workers at the Corinthian’s Arena site in Sao Paulo with great sadness. We wish to send our heartfelt condolences to the family of the workers who tragically died today. The safety of workers is the top priority for Fifa, the LOC, the federal government. We know the safety of all workers has always been paramount for all the construction companies contracted to build the 12 Fifa World Cup stadiums. The local authorities will fully investigate the reasons behind such a tragic accident.”