Man who died in Khalifa Stadium construction accident identified as New Zealander Zac Cox

The man who fell to his death at the construction site of the Khalifa International Stadium has reportedly been identified as Kiwi Zac Cox. Earlier media reports had suggested that it was a British man who had lost his life.

Cox, 40, died when safety equipment failed and he fell from a catwalk platform at the Khalifa Stadium, which is currently under renovation.

Cox’s friend Steve Wilson said he was much loved among his peers.

“He was a close friend of mine, a close friend of many people. He touched so many people with his beautiful spirit and heart,” the New Zealand Herald quoted Wilson as saying.

A yoga enthusiast, he started working in the construction industry in around 2014. Tragedy had struck Cox earlier when his 30-year-old wife Betsy passed away from breast cancer.

Cox’s mother, who he used to stay with, lives in Christchurch in New Zealand.

“What his mom said was they were installing a catwalk high up on the structure, he was standing on it, there was an equipment failure and dropped. He fell and would have died instantly on impact,” Wilson said.

This is the second construction-related death at the 2022 FIFA World Cup Stadium sites in recent times. Last October, 29-year-old Nepali man Anil Kumar Pasman was killed after being struck by a water tanker at the Al Wakrah Stadium building site.

Construction firm Midmac-Six Construct said Cox, who was wearing a harness and other safety gear, fell when a lever hoist failed.

“Sadly, the harness was cut during the fall with a fatal outcome. What caused the cut is subject to further investigation,” the company said in a statement.