Work to resume at Sao Paulo stadium

Brazil's Labour Ministry has granted permission for work to resume on temporary seating at the stadium that will host the World Cup opening match and the ground should now be ready by mid-May, officials said on Friday.

Work on installing almost half of the 20,000 temporary seats at Sao Paulo's Arena Corinthians was halted last month after a worker fell to his death, the third fatality at the site in four months.

The company responsible for installing the seats, Fast Engenheria, said it would immediately restart work on the temporary grandstands at the north end of the stadium.

"Even though work was interrupted for almost two weeks Fast retains its commitment to deliver the temporary grandstands in the promised timeframe, with work scheduled to finish in the first half of May," the company said in a statement.

The Arena Corinthians was built to seat 48,000 fans but another 20,000 seats are being added for the World Cup.

The stadium will host six games, including the prestigious opening match between Brazil and Croatia on June 12.

The ground was supposed to be ready in December but the delivery date has been pushed back several times amid delays, accidents and other problems.

It is one of three World Cup stadiums yet to be finished.