Minor girl dies after slab falls on her during NH-16 repair in Bhadrak, locals block highway

A disturbing incident rocked Bishnupur Chhak under Dhamnagar police limits in Odisha’s Bhadrak district after an eight-year-old girl died after a protection slab fell on her near an under-construction flyover on NH-16, on Sunday.

Also Read: Student dies after electricity utility pole falls on him near school premises

The minor, a local resident, was walking near the site when the slab, part of the ongoing highway repair work, unexpectedly gave way and collapsed on her. She died on the spot, sending shockwaves through the community.

As news of the tragedy spread, enraged villagers gathered at the site, blaming negligence in the construction process. The crowd blocked the national highway in protest, demanding accountability and adequate compensation to the deceased’s next of kin.

In the chaos, a JCB machine being used for the NH repair work was set on fire. Vehicular movement on both sides of NH-16 came to a complete standstill for several hours.

Police reached the spot and recovered the body for postmortem, trying to pacify the angry mob. Tensions remained high as locals insisted that the administration take immediate action against those responsible and ensure proper safety measures at ongoing construction sites.

“I got a phone call from here (the accident spot) around 45 minutes ago that my friend Bhajahari Mallick’s minor daughter died in a mishap on her way back home from tuition,” a resident, Dharmendra Mallick, said.

“She (the minor girl) had got trapped under a slab of the under-construction bridge near Bishnupur. A local man saw this and informed others in Bentalia village. When we reached the spot, an on-duty site manager, security guard and machine operator fled from the spot and told us no girl had got buried under the slab,” Dharmendra Mallick alleged.

“Later, we found the girl trapped under the slab, and she had died,” the resident stated.

The road blockade was underway till the time when this report was filed.