ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- A North Korean man has died while working on a stadium for the 2018 World Cup, a Russian official said Tuesday.
The unnamed man died overnight in a communal area used by workers at the St. Petersburg stadium, regional investigative official Sergei Kapitonov was quoted as saying Tuesday by state news agency RIA Novosti.
"According to preliminary information, the death was the result of heart disease," Kapitonov said.
Ekaterina Giginyak, spokeswoman for the Metrostroy company that oversees the stadium construction, also told The Associated Press a worker died of heart failure, but said it happened in his lodgings and not at the construction site.
Three workers have died in accidents while working on the stadium within the last 12 months, including a man who fell down a lift shaft last month.
The 69,000-seat arena, which is due to host a World Cup semifinal and next year's Confederations Cup final, has been plagued by cost rises and delays.
The North Korean embassy and a company which reportedly employed the dead worker both refused to comment.