Stadium collapse kills 2 in Brazil ahead of World Cup 2014

Sao Paulo: With one thunderous crash, Brazil’s troubled preparations for the World Cup are thrown in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, just as soccer gears up for the high-profile setting of the schedule for next year’s big event.

Part of the stadium that will host the tournament’s opening match collapsed Wednesday, killing two workers and aggravating already urgent worries that Brazil won’t be ready.

“It was a huge explosion,” said 32-year-old stonemason Evandro Pereira, who was off at a cafeteria at the time of the lunchtime accident. “It was really very scary. We all ran out and we were shocked to see the crane had collapsed on top of the stands.”

The accident at the Arena Corinthians, known locally as the Itaquerao, could hardly have come at a worse time - just a week before the top names in soccer arrive for the draw that will determine where and when all 32 teams will play in the World Cup’s opening round.

“The sound was as loud as a thunderclap or a huge explosion,” said Rodrigo Vessoni, a reporter with the sports newspaper Lance who witnessed the accident. “There was a lot of running around, a lot of shouting. It was frightening. Chills ran through my entire body.”