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A security guard fell to his death while on duty at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, which is one of the major locations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the tournament organisers said in a statement on Wednesday. The guard's name was John Njau Kibue and CNN reported that he belonged to Kenya and was aged 24.
The incident took place on December 10, and the statement released by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, who are organising the tournaments, added that he was transferred to the Hamad Medical Hospital's intensive care unit via ambulance after being attended to and provided emergency treatment by medical teams on the spot.
"We regret to announce that, despite the efforts of the medical team, he sadly passed away in the hospital on Tuesday 13 December, after being in the intensive care unit for three days. His next of kin have been informed. We send our sincere condolences to his family, colleagues and friends during this difficult time," the statement read.
"We will also ensure that his family receive all outstanding dues and monies owed," the statement added.
This unfortunate loss of life follows the reports of the death of a Filipino worker at a training site during the World Cup. Meanwhile, journalists Khalid al-Misslam of Qatar, Roger Pearce from Britain and USA's Grant Wahl have also died while covering the World Cup.
The news comes days before the Lusail Stadium is set to host the World Cup final, which will see Argentina face off against the winners of the semifinal between France and Morocco being played on Thursday (December 15) morning at 12:30 am IST.
Earlier, the Athletic had reported that the man from the Philippines, who was in his early 40s, died while working at a training base during the group stage games.
The incident is being investigated by the Qatari government.
Asked by the BBC for a comment on the reports, Nasser Al Khater, the chief executive of Qatar 2022, extraordinarily said ‘death is a natural part of life’ as he questioned why the interviewer had chosen to ask him about the incident."We're in the middle of a World Cup and we have a successful World Cup, and this is something you want to talk about right now? I mean, death is a natural part of life, whether it's at work or in your sleep," he said.
