1,000 Indian construction workers died in Qatar in four years

Among them, as many as 717 workers lost their lives since it was announced that the Gulf state will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Official figures confirmed by the Indian embassy in Doha reveal more than 500 Indian migrant workers have died in last two years.

Documents show 233 Indian migrants lost their lives in 2010, 239 in 2011, 237 Indians working in Qatar died in 2012 and another 241 perished last year. A further 24 Indian nationals died in the country in January alone. In the last four years that number is 974 Indian workers.

'Improve working conditions'

The shocking scale of the death toll among those workers fuelling a construction boom in the Arab emirate has prompted human rights groups to urge FIFA to investigate and call for improved working conditions for the estimated 1.2million migrant workers.

Qatar's ministry of labour and social affairs said that they are working to understand the causes of these deaths – as these statistics could include a range of circumstances including natural causes, and road safety incidents, as well as a smaller number of workplace incidents.

Meanwhile, the International Trade Union Confederation has warned up to 4,000 workers could die before the tournament kicks off in 2022 if nothing is done.

A few months ago, a damning report by Amnesty International had revealed workers were being forced to endure 12-hour days in various construction projects.

Falling from heights

An interview with a representative of Doha's main hospital revealed that more than 1,000 people, falling from heights, while at work, had been admitted to the trauma unit of the facility in 2012. Ten per cent of these were disabled, and the resulting mortality rate was "significant".

In 2013, the International Labour Organisation slammed Qatar for failing to implement an international convention banning the use of forced labour.