Toxic gas leak kills 9 at Ctg shipbreaking yard

11Staff Correspondent222
CHATTOGRAM Aug 14: At least nine workers of a shipbreaking yard at Sitakunda under Chattogram district died on Friday from a gas leak at Ferdous Steel Shipbreaking Yard where more than 34 people were working during the accident.
Army were deployed in the afternoon to bring the situation under control as locals had grown agitated following the deaths of workers in the incident. 
According to Sitakunda police, the accident took place at around 8:30am on Friday. The fire service personnel rushed to the spot after more than two hours later at around 10:50am, as they have been informed later, fire officials said.
A team from Kumira Fire Service reached the yard at around 11:10am and initially rescued two workers dead and three others injured. Six injured workers are now receiving treatment at different hospitals.
Fire service officials said the accident may have been caused by a leakage of carbon monoxide gas.
Alauddin Talukder, in charge of the CMCH police outpost, confirmed that seven of the victims were taken to the hospital. "Five of them were declared dead by on-duty doctors," 
he added.
Local residents said workers were not allowed to enter the yard for hours after the accident. Angered by the delay, residents later broke open the gate and entered the yard, and vandalised the yard.
They subsequently joined the rescue operation and helped recover eight injured workers, locals said.
The situation turned emotional after the bodies of two workers were brought to the yard. Families of workers identified them as Palash Das and Sani Das, from the nearby Jelepara area. Local residents alleged that although the factory was supposed to remain closed on the weekly holiday, workers had been forced to carry out work at the yard.
They also alleged that members of the safety team were not present when the work was being carried out. Senior officials from Industrial Police and district police visited the site, while Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer Fakhrul Islam also reached the scene and tried to bring the situation under control.
Residents gathered outside the yard and demanded a proper investigation into the accident and exemplary punishment for those responsible.
The latest incident has renewed concerns over safety practices at shipbreaking yard in Sitakunda, one of Bangladesh's largest ship recycling hubs.
The workers died after suspected toxic gas exposure inside a ship being dismantled at a shipbreaking yard. Firefighters rescued the workers from the vessel, which was anchored adjacent to Ferdous Steel Shipyard, in the morning.
Mohammad Yusuf, manager of the shipyard, said an LNG carrier was being dismantled and the cutting work was nearing completion.
"Liquid waste was found in a section of the vessel. A safety officer and others went there to inspect it, and the accident occurred," he said.
Witnesses said a gas pipeline was accidentally severed while workers were dismantling a ship at Ferdous Steel Ship Recycling Industries.
Leaked gas spread through the shipbreaking yard, causing several workers to inhale it and fall ill.
The shipbreaking yard, owned by Ziri Subedar Group, witnessed a similar incident on September 16 last year, when eight workers were burnt in an oil tank explosion.
In another incident at the SN Corporation Shipbreaking Yard in Sitakunda on September 7, 2024, 12 workers were injured. Six of them later died after reportedly inhaling leaked gas.