Opening of damaged Sao Paulo World Cup 2014 stadium may be delayed until February following tragic crane deaths

PUBLISHED: 15:49 EST, 28 November 2013 | UPDATED: 07:24 EST, 29 November 2013

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A fatal construction accident at Sao Paulo's World Cup stadium on Wednesday, in which a crane collapsed and killed two workers may delay its opening until February.

The £300million arena, set to host the opening game of the tournament on June 12, had been close to completion but considerable damage has been caused to the structure.

FIFA however is confident the stadium will be ready on time to host the tournament's opening match, a source told Sportsmail on Thursday.

VIDEO TWO KILLED IN CRANE COLLAPSE AT WORLD CUP STADIUM IN BRAZIL

First footage of crane collapse which killed two at Brazil...

Disaster: The damage done by the crane is shown by the local news in Sao Paulo

Collapse: People stand in front of a metal structure that buckled on part of the stadium in Sao Paulo

A preliminary investigation into the accident, 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 previous experience suggests it will take about twice that time to clear the wreckage and rebuild, the source said.

If work resumes on Monday, as the builders believe it will, that puts the completion date in early February.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe into the accident is sensitive and ongoing, expressed 'high confidence' in the timeline but said it is subject to change pending further investigation by local authorities.

Horrific: Evidence of the damage at the stadium, where two workers died following the collapse

ITAQUERAO STADIUM

Location: Sao Paulo

Club: Corinthians

World Cup capacity: 65,000

Post World Cup capacity: 48,234

Games hosting: Four group, one round of 16, one semi-final

Construction cost: £218.1million

Planned completion date: March 2013

Peak workers on site: 2,300 (Nov 2012)

Architect: Anibal Coutinho

First World Cup match: June 12, 2014

'The reconstruction is not a difficult thing to do,' the source said. 'Everyone is mourning the workers, but are calm about the construction itself.'

If proven true, the news would be a relief for Brazil's troubled efforts to get stadiums and other key infrastructure ready on time before the World Cup kicks off in Sao Paulo on June 12.

World soccer body FIFA has said that all of the stadiums to be used for the event must be finished by the end of December.

The source said, however, that FIFA has always been quietly willing to extend the deadline for the Sao Paulo facility - called Arena Corinthians - by a few months if necessary because construction there started a year later than at other stadiums.

Tall order: What the Corinthians Stadium should look like when completed

Tall order: What the Itaquerao Stadium should look like when completed

Two killed in crane collapse at World Cup stadium in Brazil

'The timeline needed to open the stadium is guaranteed,' the source added.

A spokesman for Odebrecht SA, the conglomerate building the stadium, declined to comment.

Andres Sanchez, a former president of the Corinthians soccer club who is overseeing construction, did not answer phone calls or text messages.

A FIFA spokeswoman told SportsMail by email earlier on Thursday that it was 'premature' to gauge how long the accident could delay the stadium's opening until next week at the earliest.

The crane collapse was the latest incident to cast a shadow over preparations for the Cup, which have been plagued by cost overruns, delays, and a dramatic downsizing of the public transportation projects that were supposed to be the event's main lasting legacy for Brazil's 200 million people.

Public anger over the billions of dollars being spent on the stadiums boiled over in June, when massive anti-government street protests erupted during the Confederations Cup tournament which was a warm-up to next year's event.

Behind schedule: FIFA are confident the stadium will be ready for the tournament's opening game in June

Behind schedule: The stadium was supposed to be completed in March 2013

New build: Part of the Itaquerao Stadium has collapsed - this picture was taken in September

Brazilian newspapers said that one of victims of Wednesday's accident, Fabio Luiz Pereira, had dreamed of attending the Cup's opening match at the stadium he was helping to build.

The accident occurred as the crane was lifting a large, 420-tonne piece of the stadium's roof into place.

It was to be the last of 39 pieces of roof, which is why senior engineers and representatives of the Corinthians team including Sanchez were present when the tragedy took place, the source said.

Photos from the scene show the white, grid-like piece of roof crushed a sizeable section of the facility's exterior.

The initial investigation has identified four possible causes of the accident, the source said.

They include the crane breaking due to the roof's weight; crane operator error; a procedural mistake in attaching the roof to the crane; and the crane losing its footing in the ground because of recent heavy rains, which the source said was 'very feasible.'

Race against time: The stadium back in May when workers were aiming to meet FIFA's original December deadline

One risk to the stadium's revised timeline would be a lengthy legal investigation that freezes construction.

However, the Sao Paulo state prosecutor's office said on Wednesday that it would only halt construction if 'technical elements warrant.'

Odebrecht said on Wednesday it expects to resume building on Monday.

Builders earlier on Thursday ordered a replacement for the fallen piece of roof, a component that is made in Brazil, the source added.

Collapse: A crane reportedly fell on the Itaquerao Stadium, killing three people

Nearly complete: The Itaquerao Stadium as it looked last week

A police inspector also declared on Thursday that he would authorise workers to remove the fallen piece from the scene as soon as possible, the source said.

That development would also suggest a less intrusive approach by authorities to the accident.

Sao Paulo's civil police force did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

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Onelife, Preston - England, 23 hours ago

Never should have been awarded to Brazil,they don't have the temperament or infrastructure to support the tournament safely, it will all end in tears......