MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Following another death, Brazilian labor court orders partial stop in Amazon stadium

The Arena Amazonia is scheduled to host several World Cup matches

A Brazilian labor court ordered a partial stop to construction on the Arena Amazonia in the jungle city of Manaus after the death of a worker who fell off the stadium's roof again raised safety concerns ahead of the 2014 soccer World Cup.

 Public prosecutors asked for work “in all areas involving altitude” to be stopped pending investigations to guarantee workers' safety. The worker, Marcleudo de Melo Ferreira, 22, died in a Manaus hospital on Saturday.

“Around noon on Sunday we were notified of the labor court's order for a partial stoppage of work,” the coordinator for UGP Copa, the umbrella co-ordination organization for all World Cup projects in Manaus, said in a statement.

“The decision should be applied to activities in high areas, notably the services of mounting the roof and facade of the Arena Amazonia.”

The UGP statement said the Brazilian company Andrade Gutierrez building the stadium had immediately complied with the decision and was taking the appropriate measures to ensure the full resumption of work.

Construction firm Andrade Gutierrez said an investigation of Saturday's incident would immediately be opened.

Ferreira was the fifth construction worker to die in stadiums being built to host the World Cup in 12 cities. Later on Saturday, a construction worker in a nearby convention center that will host meetings during the World Cup, Jose Antonio da Silva Nascimento, was found dead. Family members blamed an intense work schedule for triggering a heart attack.

Fatal accidents had previously occurred in Manaus, Brasilia and most recently in Sao Paulo, where two people died on Nov. 27 after a crane collapsed in the arena that is to host the opening game on June 12.

Manaus is scheduled to host four World Cup games in June, including high-profile encounters involving teams from England, Italy, the United States and Portugal. The stadium is supposed to be ready by January 15.