UK coroner blames Qatar World Cup site conditions for death

LONDON (AP) A British coroner has blamed dangerous working practices for the death of a worker on a 2022 World Cup stadium building site in Qatar.

An inquest heard that Zachary Cox fell nearly 40 meters in January 2017 when a faulty hoist he was using to put a suspended walkway in place broke at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.

The 40-year-old Cox's safety harness snapped under the weight. He fell head first, sustaining brain injuries and a broken neck. Cox was born in South Africa but later lived in England.

Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley told Brighton and Hove Coroner's Court that site managers ''knew or should have known that they were effectively requiring a group of their workers to rely on potentially lethal equipment.''

Hamilton-Deeley described a new system of hoists introduced to speed up construction as ''downright dangerous.''

The stadium contractor is Midmac-Six Construct, a venture between Belgian and Qatari firms.

World Cup organizers in Doha say four people employed on the project were removed from their jobs and banned from future tournament work.