RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The attorney representing the crane operator involved in last week’s deadly accident at the stadium hosting Brazil’s World Cup opening match says his client told police he’d noticed nothing out of the ordinary.
Carlos Kauffmann says crane operator Luiz Antonio da Cruz spoke Wednesday for the first time to police investigating the Nov. 27 accident in Sao Paulo. Two construction workers were killed when the crane collapsed as it lifted a 500-ton piece of roofing.
Kauffmann said Cruz has operated cranes for 34 years and hoisted 37 similar pieces of roofing for the Arena Corinthians without incident.
The attorney said Cruz told police that “he didn’t notice any problem. Because if he had noticed a problem, he wouldn’t have gone ahead with the operation.”
