A three-member expert team from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) conducted a detailed technical examination on Wednesday of a fatal incident that occurred during construction of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district. The examination focused on the site at village Jakh in Vijaypur tehsil, where a 25-year-old labourer from Bihar was crushed to death when a span segment slipped at the Package-15 construction location. The team inspected all aspects of the techno-mechanical failure involving the highly sophisticated launching gantry and reviewed relevant design details and the sequence of operations carried out at the time of the incident. The NHAI statement said that prima facie the incident occurred due to a technical snag during the launching operation and that a detailed examination was continuing to establish the precise cause and to determine the necessary corrective and preventive measures. The experts were described as having extensive field experience and were tasked with analysing both equipment performance and procedural compliance. The authority said that the contractor and project management had been asked to provide complete documentation and records of the launching sequence and that onsite maintenance logs were being reviewed as part of the inquiry. The victim's family has been suitably compensated and the contractor has provided employment to the next of kin, measures that were extended in solidarity and support for the affected family. The statement noted that such assistance was offered as mitigation but could not substitute for the loss suffered by the family. The NHAI reiterated its commitment to ensuring the highest standards of safety during construction activities as well as for highway users and said that all necessary measures would continue to be undertaken to uphold safety standards across the project. The authority indicated that corrective steps identified through the technical review would be implemented to prevent recurrence and that the investigation would guide any further remedial actions. The site inquiry remains under way and the agency said it would issue further updates on conclusions and measures once the examination is complete.