Three workers out of eight who were injured in a blast on Sunday at a shipbreaking yard, owned by Shital Enterprise, located in the Chittagong district of Bangladesh, have died having succumbed to their severe injuries.
The information has been confirmed to World Maritime News by NGO Shipbreaking Platform, which is in contact with the organization’s local colleagues and trade unions.
“ Unfortunately, three workers have died due to severe burn injuries. A case has been filed against the yard management for negligence, ” Patrizia Heidegger, Executive Director of NGO Shipbreaking Platform said in a statement.
The explosion is said to have been caused by a leak from a gas cylinder that burst into flames after one of the workers lit up a cigarette in the enclosed area filled with gas, violating safety procedures. Other reports indicate that the fire erupted amid workers’ attempts to light up the gas-filled area.
The blast comes in less than two weeks from another blast reported in August, when one worker died and two were injured in a gas pipeline explosion at a ship breaking yard in the Chittagong district. The workers were cutting iron sheets inside the yard on August 25, when a gas cylinder burst and exploded.
The shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh are notorious for their lack of adhering to proper safety regulations as workers at majority of shipbreaking yards in the country are not equipped with the necessary safety gear resulting in various types of accidents, often fatal.
World Maritime News Staff