Russian World Cup stadium fire reignites safety questions

A fire at a 2018 World Cup venue in Russia on Wednesday prompted a fresh wave of questions about the safety of the facilities and quality of working conditions ahead of next year's showpiece.

The blaze saw the unfinished 45,500 seater pluming smoke into the sky of Volgograd, an industrial city in the west of the country. Emergency services put out the fire at around 7 a.m. local time, and told Reuters that it was ignited because of a "violation of fire safety regulations during welding."

There were no injuries or fatalities incurred from the incident, according to the Emergencies Ministry.

Thankfully for the Russian Football Union, the Volgograd Arena isn't among the four grounds being used for the Confederations Cup which kicks off in Saint Petersburg's Krestovsky Stadium on Saturday. It will, however, host four group matches at the World Cup, including decisive last-day tests in Group A and Group H.

The fire was accompanied on Wednesday by findings from global trade union Building and Wood Workers' International, which claims 17 people have died while assembling stadiums in preparation for the World Cup, Human Rights Watch reports. Many others are believed to have been troubled by huge delays or a non-payment in wages, being made to work outside in temperatures well below freezing, and lacking the required legal paperwork to be employed in the first place.

The first whistle for the opening game of the Russian World Cup will sound on June 14, 2018.