Over 400 Nepalese migrant workers have died on Qatar's World Cup building sites, a study by a human rights organisation was quoted as saying.

Qatar will host the World Cup in 2022.

The UK's "The Guardian" newspaper report quoted statistics from the Pravasi Nepali Co-ordination Committee, a respected human rights organisation which compiles lists of the dead using official sources in Doha.

It said the study, to be released soon, will pile new pressure on the Qatari authorities and football's world governing body Fifa to curb the mounting death toll. Some are warning the toll could hit 4,000 by the time the 2022 finals take place, it said.

The report also said the study raises the question of how many migrant workers in total might have died on construction sites since Qatar won the bid in 2010. Nepalese workers comprise only 20 per cent of Qatar's migrant workforce and others come from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, it said.

Qatar last week released its Workers’ Welfare Standards, which, it said, have been incorporated in all of its contracts. These standards, which are aligned with Qatari Labour Law and international best practice, set clear guidelines that protect the rights of workers throughout the entire chain of contracting, from recruitment to repatriation, Qatar said.
 
Jim Murphy, UK Labour party's shadow international development minister, wrote in the Guardian: "People don't have to die to bring us this or any other World Cup or sporting event. According to the International TUC, the 2022 World Cup risks 4,000 lives."