Kamal Ghorui
A technician working on setting up a stage where pop superstar Shakira is set to perform a free concert this week was killed on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.Authorities and organisers confirmed that the man, part of the construction crew, suffered crushing injuries to his legs in a lifting system. Several people have been working for weeks to assemble a stage on the sands of the Brazilian city’s Copacabana beach, where crowds are expected from around the world to see the Colombian singer perform on May 2 as part of her record-breaking world tour.Workers managed to free the man, and he was taken to the hospital, “Unfortunately, the technician passed away in the hospital,” concert organiser Bonus Track said in a statement.“Out of nowhere, we saw people running, and when we looked, the structure was on the ground,” Antonio Marcos Ferreira dos Santos, 51, who was on the beach at the time, told AFP.“People were saying that a man had gotten trapped underneath. People rushed over to pull him out.”Shakira has not commented on the death of the worker.Following the man’s demise, work on the construction of the stage resumed on Monday. Concert organisers expressed support and solidarity with the company in charge of the stage construction, its “staff and the family of the victim” of the tragic accident.“It is a sad thing that this happened, but the concert should go on,” said Anita Costa, a 41-year-old singer.Many other beachgoers said they were sorry for the worker’s death and that they think the concert should still go on as planned.
