Deaths Of Construction Workers At The 2022 World Cup Stadium About 400 To 500 People, Chief Panpel: One Death Too Many

JAKARTA - Chairman of the 2022 World Cup Qatar Hassan Al-Thawadi said between 400 and 500 migrant workers died while working on the project for the four-year event.

This figure was conveyed by Hassan during an interview with Piers Morgan which was broadcast by TalkTV on Monday, November 28, yesterday. The number of deaths is much greater than the previous Qatari government officials claimed.

"The estimate is around 400, between 400 and 500 (who died). I don't have the exact figure, that's something that has been discussed. One death is too much, as simple as that," Hassan said as quoted by Marca, Wednesday, November 30, 2022.

The number of deaths of migrant workers while building infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup continues to be debated today. Claims from the Qatari government and a number of investigations call different numbers.

In some reports, migrant workers who were said to have died during the construction of stadiums, metro lines, and new infrastructure that reached 200 billion dollars needed by the tournament were 6,500 people.

However, this month a government official acknowledged that only three deaths were directly related to work at the World Cup stadium and 37 other deaths had no connection with the project at all.

Last year Hassan as the person in charge of leading preparations for the Qatari World Cup also denied reports of deaths reaching 6,500 people. This is in line with the allegations made by a Qatari official last month.

"Angka 6,500 mengambil jumlah semua kematian pekerja asing di negara itu selama periode 10 tahun dan mengaitkannya dengan Piala Dunia. Ini tidak benar dan memperbaikan semua penyebab kematian lainnya termasuk penyakit, usia tua, dan kecelakaan lalu lintas," kata pejabat itu.

However, Amnesty International discovered various work problems of migrants began to emerge since Qatar was appointed to host the World Cup in 2010. Among them are the problem of delayed or unpaid wages, forced labor, long working hours in hot weather, and intimidation from superiors.

In addition, migrant workers are also said to be unable to leave their jobs due to problems with the state's sponsorship system.