The statement comes from Hassan al-Thawadi, Secretary General of the Qatar Organizing Committee, in an interview with the British media profile and journalist Piers Morgan.
In the interview, British journalist al-Thawadi asks: What is the honest and realistic number of migrant workers who died as a result of the work they did for the World Cup?
- The estimate is around 400, between 400 and 500. I don't have an exact number.
It is something that has been discussed, answers al-Thawadi.
However, this figure has not been publicly discussed by Qatari officials before.
According to the data released by Qatar, the total number of deaths is 40. Of these, 37 are what Qatar describes as non-work-related incidents, such as heart attacks.
- One death is too many, adds al-Thawadi in the interview.
In a statement, the organizing committee said al-Thawadi referred to "national statistics for the period 2014-2020 for all work-related deaths (414) in Qatar, covering all sectors and nationalities."
The number of migrant workers who died in connection with the construction of infrastructure and stadiums linked to the World Cup has been debated for a long time.
Human rights organizations estimate the death toll at thousands, and the British newspaper The Guardian has put the figure at 6,500 in its own analysis.