Pedestrian dies after bearing pad falls off Metrorail pillar in Farmgate

A pedestrian was killed after a bearing pad came off a pillar of the metrorail in the capital's Farmgate. The accident occurred on the main road of Farmgate around 12:30 pm on Sunday.

Eyewitnesses said that the office-going man was crossing the road at the Farmgate intersection. He had an office bag on his shoulder and was probably in a hurry to get to work. At that moment, a heavy bearing pad suddenly came off the junction of the metrorail pillar above and hit him on the head. He died on the spot.

After the accident, people in the vicinity were shocked and traffic was quickly stopped. Police and fire service members reached the spot and recovered the body and sent it to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Initially, it is believed that the bearing pad came off due to a mechanical or construction defect in the pillar. Not only did a pedestrian lose his life, but engineers at the scene said that the metrorail line also sagged slightly.

The metro rail service was temporarily suspended immediately after the accident. The engineering team concerned has started an emergency inspection and it has been informed that the train service will remain suspended until safety is ensured.

An eyewitness said, “Suddenly, after hearing a heavy bang, I saw the man lying down, his head covered in blood. Everyone rushed to the spot within a moment, but there was nothing they could do.”

Meanwhile, questions have been raised after the accident about the metro rail’s safety measures. Experts say that regular inspection and maintenance of the mechanical parts of such an important infrastructure should be stricter, otherwise there is a risk of a major disaster.