10,000 litres of oil scooped after spill

About 10,000 litres of furnace oil has been scooped up from the Halda River-linked canal so far since a train carrying the thick liquid derailed in Chattogram’s Hathazari yesterday.

Local administration has been working with volunteers and villagers to remove the oil and prevent the spill from spreading, our local staff correspondent reports.

“We have removed 10,000 litres of oil until 10:00am today,” Ruhul Amin, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Hathazari, told The Daily Star in the morning.

The derailing of the wagon yesterday raised concerns over a possible oil spill into the Halda River, the lone source of natural carp breeding in South Asia.

Local administration has been claiming they acted promptly and was able to prevent oil slicks from spreading into the Halda River.

The accident spot is nearly three kilometres away from the Halda.

However, the tank wagons were not removed from the spot until last reported today. Authorities were working to remove them.

Probe committee formed

The railway ministry has formed a five-member committee with Rafiqul Islam, joint secretary (law) of the ministry, as its chief to investigate the incident.

The team already visited the spot and are tasked to find out the reason behind the incident and will give recommendations to stop recurrence of such incidents.

The probe committee is expected to submit their report by next Sunday, Railway Ministry’s Secretary Mofazzal Hossain told The Daily Star.

Deputy Secretary Law and three directors -- traffic, mechanical and engineering -- of Bangladesh Railway are members of the committee.