Organisers say two of the fatalities occurred during construction of Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing

China has admitted that two people have died during the construction of the Bird’s Nest national stadium for the Bejing Olympics.

Following media reports that ten people died, organisers admitted that two people died during the construction of the stadium in, and another four deaths occurred at other venues.

Deputy head of the Beijing Bureau of Work Safety, Ding Zhenkuan, said in a news conference: “There were two deaths at the Bird’s Nest, one in 2006 and one in 2007. We have properly compensated the families, reported the accidents to the construction community and seriously punished those responsible.”

The stadium has to be completed by August when the Olympics begin in Beijing.

There were five deaths during the construction of the National Stadium in Athens and 14 deaths in total during preparation for the 2004 games.

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