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Three days after nine workers died from toxic gas exposure at a shipbreaking yard in Sitakunda, Chattogram, investigators are still unable to enter the accident site because of the continuing risk of poisonous gas.
The accident occurred at Ferdous Steel Ship Recycling Yard in Bhatiary Union while workers were dismantling a scrap vessel.
The Industries Ministry, Chattogram district administration and the Bangladesh Ship Breakers and Recyclers Association each formed separate committees to investigate the incident. However, none of the members has yet been able to reach the vessel.
An eight-member specialised expert team led by Professor Md Yasir Arafat Khan of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Chemistry Department began its investigation on Monday.
The team was formed after authorities determined that the gas concentration around the vessel remained too dangerous for conventional investigators to enter. Officials have also begun efforts to remove the toxic gas from the ship.
The Industries Ministry had initially formed an 11-member investigation committee headed by Additional Secretary AKM Benjamin Riazi on the day of the accident.
The Chattogram district administration also formed a nine-member committee, while the Bangladesh Ship Breakers and Recyclers Association formed a three-member committee.
As those committees could not safely access the site, the ministry formed the specialised team on Sunday evening. The team also includes Captain Md Shoaib Ahmad, director of Bangladesh Maritime University, and Assistant Explosives Inspector Muhammad Mehedi Islam Khan of the Department of Explosives.
The team has been asked to submit its report within three days. It will determine the type and concentration of gas inside the vessel, identify the source of the leak and recommend measures to stop it.
According to Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board Director General ASM Shafiul Alam Talukder, hydrogen sulphide is extremely toxic and heavier than air, making the site particularly hazardous. Authorities will first work to remove gas from potentially affected areas before allowing investigators to enter.
Officials have not yet been able to determine the precise source of the leak, whether it has been completely contained or whether other hazardous gases remain inside the vessel. Gas samples have also not yet been collected because of the danger.
The accident occurred around 9am on Friday at Ferdous Steel on Station Road in Bhatiary, when workers were cutting a scrap vessel.
A worker who survived the incident told media that workers were nearing the end of cutting an LNG tank when toxic gas escaped from a tank beneath the vessel, killing nine workers.