Nine workers killed in toxic gas leak at Bangladesh shipbreaking yard

The tragedy has raised fresh questions over workplace safety, regulatory compliance and oversight at Sitakunda’s shipbreaking yards.

Nine workers were killed after toxic gas spread inside a ship at a shipbreaking yard in Sitakunda, in Bangladesh’s southeastern Chattogram district, on Friday, with authorities investigating the accident and the yard’s safety measures.

The accident occurred at around 8:30 am at the Ferdous Steel shipbreaking yard in Bhatiary, an affiliated company of Jiri Subedar Group. Fire service officials initially suspected a carbon monoxide leak.

The deaths came less than a month after Bangladesh’s Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), the government agency responsible for workplace inspections, filed a case against Ferdous Steel over alleged failures to ensure occupational safety.

DIFE filed the case at the Chattogram Labour Court on July 15, according to the agency’s immediate report and officials.

The report said workers were carrying out scrap-cutting work inside an old LNG carrier anchored at the yard when a gas leak suddenly occurred, causing excessive carbon monoxide to spread. The workers suffered severe breathing difficulties due to a lack of oxygen and several lost consciousness.

Five workers died at the scene. Three more died while receiving treatment at hospitals. Another worker died at a private hospital in Chattogram in the afternoon, bringing the death toll to nine.

Another 10 to 12 workers were sick or seriously injured and were receiving treatment at Chattogram Medical College Hospital, according to the DIFE report. A separate account said six workers were injured and were being treated at different hospitals.

Six of the bodies were at Chattogram Medical College Hospital, one was at National Hospital and two remained at the yard.

Fire service and police officials said they were informed of the accident more than two hours after it occurred, at 10:50 am. A team from the Kumira Fire Service reached the site at 11:10 am and rescued two workers who were dead and three who were injured. Five injured workers were later taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Two other bodies were also found at the yard.

Alauuddin Talukdar, in charge of the police outpost at Chattogram Medical College Hospital, said six workers had been brought to the hospital and doctors declared five of them dead.

Five of the victims had so far been identified as Palash Das, Sani Das, Nasir and Habib, along with another worker whose identity was not provided. Police and fire service officials confirmed by around 1 pm that the death toll had reached seven before it later rose to nine.

Ferdous Steel managing director Ferdous Wahid said the yard’s safety team first detected gas escaping from a tank. Several members of the safety team then went to inspect the leak, after which a number of workers became ill at the scene.

Ferdous Steel had 34 workers and employees present at the yard on Friday, which was a holiday, according to the account provided.

Local residents alleged that workers had been made to work at the yard despite Friday being a day off and that members of the safety team were not present while the work was taking place. They also alleged that workers had been sent inside the vessel without checking for accumulated liquid waste or the presence of gas, which they said amounted to negligence by the owners.

Local labour leader Fazlur Kabir Mintu said the issues should be investigated and those responsible should be brought to justice. He also alleged that work was continuing at the yard on the holiday.

DIFE Deputy Inspector General Mohammad Mahbubul Hasan said officials had identified several safety deficiencies during regular inspections of the shipyard.

The first inspection took place on Feb. 2, when multiple safety deficiencies were identified and the authorities ordered them to be corrected. A second inspection on May 4 found that the previous instructions had not been implemented, prompting another warning. On June 8, a final notice and reminder were issued to strengthen fire and occupational safety measures.

After several reminders, the authorities filed the case against Ferdous Steel at the Chattogram Labour Court on July 15 because the company had not implemented the instructions, Hasan said. Inspector Md. Sahed Parvez Talukder filed the case as the complainant.

Following Friday’s accident, a DIFE team went to inspect the yard, but two labour inspectors were seriously injured after being attacked by an agitated local crowd.

Local residents later broke through the yard gate and entered the premises after complaining that workers had not been allowed to enter for several hours following the accident. Some vandalism was also reported. Residents subsequently took part in the rescue operation and helped rescue eight injured workers.

An emotional scene unfolded at the yard after two bodies were brought there. Relatives of victims Palash Das and Sani Das arrived from the nearby Jelepাড়া area and broke down in tears.

Senior officials from the Industrial Police and district police visited the site. Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer Fakhrul Islam also went to the scene and tried to bring the situation under control.

The Department of Environment’s Chattogram deputy director Md. Mojahidur Rahman said it was not yet clear whether the vessel involved had permission to be broken at the yard.

He said such permission was not issued solely by the Department of Environment and required approvals from several other agencies, including the Department of Explosives. It was not yet known which vessels had the required approvals and which did not, he said.

Environmental officials were unable to enter the site because the entire area had been cordoned off. Details would become clear after the investigation, Rahman said.

The local administration, fire service and DIFE jointly inspected the site after the accident.

Local residents gathered outside the yard demanding a proper investigation and exemplary punishment for those responsible.

The accident has renewed concerns over safety measures at shipbreaking yards in Sitakunda, one of Bangladesh’s major ship recycling centres.