RIO DE JANEIRO, June 10 —  A construction worker was killed yesterday in Brazil after being hit by a falling beam at a construction site for Sao Paolo’s new monorail Line 17.

Line 17, a 17.7-km monorail which comprises 18 stations, will connect Congonhas International Airport to four metro lines in Sao Paulo, according to Railway Technology.com.

The accident occurred on Avenue Washington Luis, southern Sao Paulo at around 4:00 p.m, local news website PARAÍBA.com reported.

A 90-tonne beam, which had been erected a few days ago, fell to the ground, killing one worker and wounding two others.

The deceased was identified as Juracy Cunha da Silva, a 25-year-old assistant at the construction site. Carlos de Souza Vieira and Cristiano Manoel da Silva were wounded. Their injuries were said to be non life-threatening.

The monorail construction has suffered long delays, meaning it will not be ready in time for the World Cup, which begins in three days.

The Brazilian government has devoted US$11.3 billion (RM36.24 billion) to build stadiums and other facilities for the World Cup. However, many of these projects missed deadlines. A total of eight workers died during the construction of 12 World Cup arenas. — Reuters

A construction worker was killed after being hit by a beam at a construction site for Sao Paolo's monorail line. — AFP pic