Footage of stadium collapse emerges as fears grow over delays

The accident at Sao Paulo’s World Cup stadium may delay its opening until February, but FIFA is unconcerned about it being ready on time to host the tournament’s opening game in June, a source told Reuters.

A preliminary investigation into Wednesday’s accident, in which a crane collapsed and killed two workers, indicated that damage was confined to the concourse area and did not affect the stands – which could have taken longer to fix.

The damaged concourse area took about 35 days to build, and the expectation is that it will take about twice that time to clear the wreckage and rebuild, the source said.

“The reconstruction is not a difficult thing to do,” the source told Reuters. “Everyone is mourning the workers, but calm about the construction itself.”

FIFA has said that all of the stadiums to be used for the event must be finished by the end of December, but according to the Reuters source it would be willing to extend the deadline in the case of Sao Paolo.

“The timeline needed to open the stadium is guaranteed,” the source said.

Meanwhile, footage of the crane collapsing on to the stadium has emerged.