Shipbreaking yard: 12 workers suffer burns in explosion

Twelve workers sustained burn injuries in an explosion at a shipbreaking yard in Chattogram's Sitakunda upazila yesterday. Of them, ten are in critical condition.

The injured were identified as Jahangir, 48, Ahmadullah, 38, Kashem, 39, Sagar, 20, Al Amin, 23, Karimul, 21, Habib, 36, Barkat, 23, Anwar, 50, Rafique, 30, Saiful, 30, and Rafiqul Islam, 30.

According to hospital sources, Ahmadullah sustained the most severe burns, with 90 percent of his body affected, followed by Al Amin and Karimul with 80 percent burns each.

Besides, Jahangir had 70 percent; Barkat had 50 percent; Habib had 40 percent; Kashem had 35 percent; Sagar and Anwar had 25 percent each; and Rafique had 10 percent burns on their bodies.

The blast occurred around 11:30am at the shipbreaking yard of SN Corporation, situated in the upazila's Shitalpur area, according to Md Solaiman, superintendent of Chattogram Industrial Police.

He said the police team that visited the spot after the incident primarily suspected that the explosion occurred when workers were trying to break open the fuel tank of the scrapped ship.

Following the incident, the injured were taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH).

Ten of the victims are in critical condition, said Prof Dr Rafique Uddin Ahmed, head of the Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit at CMCH.

"As critical patients require full-time ICU facilities, we had to send seven patients to Dhaka due to a shortage of ICU beds at CMCH," said Brig Gen Taslim Uddin, director of the hospital.

Abul Kashem, executive member of the Bangladesh Ship Breakers and Recyclers Association (BSBRA), told The Daily Star that the dismantling of the ship, around 8,500 tonnes, had nearly been completed.

"The incident happened when the workers went to inspect the fuel tank in the ship's engine room before cutting it open," he added.

He went on to say that BSBRA would form an inquiry committee to identify the cause of the incident.

SN Corporation has a green compliance certificate for its shipbreaking yard.

Contacted, Md Barkat Ullah, chief executive officer of SN Corporation, said, "This is a certified green shipbreaking yard. Every ship undergoes inspection before being dismantled. Similarly, this ship too was inspected. So, we are also shocked by this incident. We will conduct an internal probe to find out why and how the explosion happened."

SN Corporation owner Showkat Ali Chowdhury could not be reached on the phone despite several attempts.

Meanwhile, the Shipbreaking Workers' Trade Union Forum called for the formation of an independent investigation committee to determine the cause behind the explosion.

Tapan Dutta, convener of the forum, in a statement, demanded punishment for the responsible persons and compensation for the victims' medical and rehabilitation expenses.