A nearly completed stadium that was to host the opening game of next year’s World Cup collapsed this morning in Sao Paulo, reportedly killing at least two people and causing significant damage to the structure. [Update: Initial reports suggested that a third person had been killed, although local officials now say the official death toll stands at two, with a third person in the hospital in serious condition.]
It’s unclear exactly what happened, although the Associated Press reports that a local fire officials suggested in a radio interview that the incident began when a crane apparently collapsed on top of the metal structure. From the looks of the pictures coming in over Twitter, we’re talking about a rather massive collapse here, one that obviously threatens the construction time line of the stadium in the lead-up to the World Cup kickoff. The good news is that, according to ESPN, the accident occurred while many workers were on lunch break, likely limiting the number of casualties.
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