Flying rod from elevated expressway kills boy

An unidentified adolescent boy, aged 12, lost his life after an iron rod fell on him from the under-construction Dhaka Elevated Expressway at Mohakhali in Dhaka on Monday.

The identity of the boy is yet to be ascertained and police think he was homeless as he used to live on the street.

Police quoting passers-by said the accident occurred at around 9:30am beside the rail track near the office of British American Tobacco Company.

The flying rod pierced through the head of the boy and immediately some pedestrians rushed him to a nearby hospital in the Mohakhali area.

As his condition deteriorated, he was transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Physicians at Dhaka Medical College Hospital pronounced him dead around 12:45pm, said Inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of the DMCH police outpost.

Bachchu Mia said the piece of rod was still stuck in the boy’s head when he was taken to the DMCH. He was alive when he was brought here and the doctors began emergency procedures, but he died soon afterwards, added Bachchu Mia.

Banani Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mustafizur Rahman told reporters that the place of occurrence falls within the jurisdiction of the Dhaka Railway Police Station.

“We have been informed that an iron rod fell on him from the expressway,” he said.

Any version from the Dhaka Elevated Expressway authorities is yet to be available.

Negligence in ensuring proper safety measures at construction sites continues to cause such accidents.

On August 15, 2022, at least five people including two children were crushed to death after a girder, part of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, fell on a car from a crane in Uttara.