6,751 migrants killed during Qatar's 2022 World Cup preparations

According to a study by The Guardian based on government sources, 6,751 migrant workers have died in Qatar since FIFA awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar in 2010. Many of the workers of different nationalities such as from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka died in the construction of the football stadiums for the World Cup.

Qatar has started multiple major projects in the last decade: a new airport, roads, public transport, hotels, a new city and seven football stadiums. However, it did not have a large workforce. This has led to the recruitment of people from other nearby countries. 

The governments of the countries of origin of the deceased have provided the data for the Guardian study. In addition, other nations such as the Philippines and Kenya have not disclosed the number of workers killed in Qatar and this information would increase the figure. 

Nick McGeehan, director of FairSquare Projects, told a labour rights group in the Gulf that "a very significant proportion of the migrant workers who have died since 2011 were only in the country because Qatar won the right to host the World Cup".

The causes of death vary and include multiple injuries resulting from a fall from a great height, asphyxiation by hanging and "natural causes" with the latter being the most common. The country's intense heat for at least four years is the most common assumption, as confirmed by an investigation by the UN's International Labour Organisation.

These explanations do not convince even the Gulf state's own lawyers, who sued the country multiple times in 2014 together with Human Rights Watch. These death figures reveal the Qatari administration's incompetence in protecting its more than two million migrant workers. 

Despite the allegations, the Qatari government has not clarified the facts and one of the demands is that autopsies be carried out to determine the exact reason for the deaths due to "natural causes". 

However, the government regrets the deaths and defends the fact that the workers have free medical care. 

The Guardian reports the explanation in an executive statement that "the mortality rate among these communities is within the expected range for the size and demographics of the population. However, every life lost is a tragedy, and no effort is spared in trying to prevent every death in our country".

"They have always maintained transparency on the issue," says the World Cup organising committee. It also claims that the figures for deaths related to the football event are "inaccurate". There have been 37 deaths of workers directly linked to the construction of World Cup stadiums and of these, 34 are not occupational fatalities, according to the body.

"The frequency of accidents in the construction of FIFA World Cup stadiums has been low compared to other major construction projects around the world," a FIFA spokesman said in a statement.