Qatar Workers' Deaths: Amnesty Demands Transparency from 2022 World Cup Host Country

Amnesty International is demanding transparency from Qatar regarding the Indian nationals who have died in the World Cup host country.

Figures confirmed by the Indian embassy revealed a total of 502 nationals working in the 2022 World Cup hosting country have died since 2012.

The data, obtained by the AFP news agency and The Guardian, showed 237 Indian workers died in 2012 and 241 in 2013. There has also been a further 24 deaths so far in 2014.

India and Qatari officials downplayed the deaths, insisting the number is "quite normal" considering the size of the Indian population in the country, which currently stands at around 500,000, and claiming most of the deaths were due to natural causes.

The external affairs ministry said the number of deaths down the years "remain consistent" and are not "in any way attributable to any one cause or the other".

Amnesty are now urging the government to give more information about the deaths, following concerns about working conditions in the Gulf emirate in the run-up to the World Cup.

Nikhil Eapen, spokesperson for Amnesty International India, said: "Instead of simply saying that such deaths are normal, the Indian government should provide clearer and more transparent information because at this point, we are unable to say how these deaths took place - whether on construction worksites, in labour camps, road accidents or as a result of natural causes.

"What we need to know is who these people were - how old they were and what work they were doing - and how they died."

It was previously revealed that there have also been least at least 185 Nepalese workers died in Qatar in 2013.

Jim Murphy, the shadow international development secretary, said: "Preparations for the 2022 World Cup cannot go on like this – the trickle of worrying reports from the construction sites of Qatar has become a torrent.

"Some of the practices we know are taking place in Qatar amount to forced labour, and there are widespread concerns that the death toll could reach well into the thousands if nothing is done."