LONDON: Work practices at a Qatar World Cup stadium construction site where a British worker died last year were “downright dangerous,” a coroner in Britain probing the death said Tuesday.
Zachary Cox, who was born in Johannesburg but later lived in Britain, plummeted 39 meters (128 feet) when a hoist he was using to put in place a suspended walkway broke at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha in January, 2017.
British coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley found the rope-access technician had fallen head first, sustaining brain injuries and a broken neck, after a safety harness had also snapped.
Brighton and Hove Coroner’s Court, in southern England where Cox had lived — heard new working practices, including the use of extra hoists to speed up construction after problems with some of the heavy metal platforms, had preceded the fatal incident.
Hamilton-Deeley called the conditions “inherently unsafe.”
“The site managers at the stadium knew or should have known that they were effectively requiring a group of their workers to rely on potentially lethal equipment,” she said.
“(The new system) was chaotic, unprofessional, unthinking and downright dangerous.”
Relatives of Cox, 40, told the coroner they have been fighting for answers from officials at the stadium’s main contractor, Midmac-Six Construct Joint Venture, and want an independent inquiry and the involvement of Britain’s Foreign Office.
In a statement after the inquest, Cox’s sisters-in-law Ella Joseph and Hazel Mayes demanded “reassurance that those responsible for making the decisions that ultimately led to Zac’s death will be held to account and justice will be served.
An initial investigation into the death, compiled by the contractor and referenced in an annual workers’ welfare report released last June, found concerns over the construction of the high platform from which Cox fell.
The joint venture did not respond to a request for comment from AFP.
Local authorities in Qatar are also conducting their own probe.
Colleague Graham Vance, from South Africa, was initially arrested over Cox’s death and kept in Qatar for 10 months but has since been cleared of any wrongdoing.
Khalifa was the first World Cup stadium to be opened in Qatar, hosting its first major event, the Emir Cup, last May.
It will also be the site of the 2019 world athletics championships.
UK inquest into Qatar World Cup death cites ‘unsafe’ site
UK inquest into Qatar World Cup death cites ‘unsafe’ site
Saudi ambassador becomes first foreign envoy to meet Bangladesh’s new PM
- Tarique Rahman took oath as PM last week after landslide election win
- Ambassador Abdullah bin Abiyah also meets Bangladesh’s new FM
Dhaka: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Dhaka became on Sunday the first foreign envoy to meet Bangladesh’s new Prime Minister Tarique Rahman since he assumed the country’s top office.
Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party made a landslide win in the Feb. 12 election, securing an absolute majority with 209 seats in the 300-seat parliament.
The son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, he was sworn in as the prime minister last week.
The Saudi government congratulated Rahman on the day he took the oath of office, and the Kingdom’s Ambassador Abdullah bin Abiyah was received by the premier in the Bangladesh Secretariat, where he also met Bangladesh’s new foreign minister.
“Among the ambassadors stationed in Dhaka, this is the first ambassadorial visit with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman since he assumed office,” Saleh Shibli, the prime minister’s press secretary, told Arab News.
“The ambassador conveyed greetings and best wishes to Bangladesh’s prime minister from the king and crown prince of Saudi Arabia … They discussed bilateral matters and ways to strengthen the ties among Muslim countries.”
Rahman’s administration succeeded an interim government that oversaw preparations for the next election following the 2024 student-led uprising, which toppled former leader Sheikh Hasina and ended her Awami League party’s 15-year rule.
New Cabinet members were sworn in during the same ceremony as the prime minister last week.
Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman is a former UN official who served as Bangladesh’s national security adviser during the interim government’s term.
He received Saudi Arabia’s ambassador after the envoy’s meeting with the prime minister.
“The foreign minister expressed appreciation for the Saudi leadership’s role in promoting peace and stability in the Middle East and across the Muslim Ummah. He also conveyed gratitude for hosting a large number of Bangladeshi workers in the Kingdom and underscored the significant potential for expanding cooperation across trade, investment, energy, and other priority sectors, leveraging the geostrategic positions of both countries,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The Saudi ambassador expressed his support to the present government and his intention to work with the government to enhance the current bilateral relationship to a comprehensive relationship.”
Around 3.5 million Bangladeshis live and work in Saudi Arabia. They have been joining the Saudi labor market since 1976, when work migration to the Kingdom was established during the rule of the new prime minister’s father.
Bangladeshis are the largest expat group in the Kingdom and the largest Bangladeshi community outside Bangladesh and send home more than $5 billion in remittances every year.
