Portion of Bomikhal flyover caves in again; 1 killed

Bhubaneswar: One labourer was killed while another was injured after getting trapped under a railing of the under-construction Bomikhal flyover that caved in today evening.

According to sources, the two labourers were rushed to Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar where one succumbed to the injuries. The other labourer was later shifted to a private hospital in the city after his condition deteriorated.

The deceased labourer was identified as Ajay Gumit, a resident of Lathikata in Sundergarh district, while the injured was identified as Anand Nayak.

Earlier, locals launched a massive operation to rescue the labourers. The incident occurred when 8-10 labourers were working under the flyover.

"We were installing iron railings for a pillar when its support snapped and it caved in," said a labourer.

According to eyewitnesses, locals rushed to the spot after hearing a noise.

"We were sitting inside our shop when we heard the noise and screams of labourers. When we reached the spot, we saw two labourers were trapped under heavy iron railings," said an eye-witness.

The incident occurred just 50 meter away from the spot where a portion had caved in last year.

Last year on September 10, a section of the under-construction flyover had collapsed leaving 1 person dead and 10 others injured.

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Meanwhile, irate locals staged a road blockade at the spot in protest of the incident. Both BJP and Congress activists also joined the protests demanding arrest of the chief of Panda Infra, the company that had undertaken the construction work of Bomikhal flyover in Odisha.

Later in the night, Khurda Collector Nirmal Mishra reached Capital Hospital here to take stock of the situation.

"As per preliminary reports, the workers were trapped under some heavy substance as a result of which one person was killed and another injured, who has been shifted to AMRI hospital. A high-level technical inquiry will be undertaken and action will be taken on the findings accordingly," said Mishra.