Gas pipe explosion leaves worker critically injured at Sitakunda shipbreaking yard
Hospital sources said the worker suffered 16% burns and remains in critical condition
A worker at a shipbreaking yard in Chattogram's Sitakunda sustained severe burn injuries this afternoon (10 August) when a gas pipe exploded during steel plate cutting.
The incident occurred around 4pm at King Steel Shipyard in the Faujdarhat area, according to industrial police.
The injured, identified as cutter foreman Md Faruk, 48, son of Abul Kashem from Sitakunda, was rushed to Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH) after the blast.
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Hospital sources said Faruk suffered burns to 16% of his body and remains in critical condition in Ward-36.
Abdullah Al Mahmud, superintendent of Chattogram Industrial Police, said, "We are aware of the incident. A team of police visited the spot and is looking into the matter."
AKM Shafiul Alam Talukder, director general of the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board, King Steel has yet to receive green certification.
"Actions will be taken after investigating the incident," he said.
In response to the incident, Tapan Dutta, convener of the Shipbreaking Workers Trade Union Forum, and joint convener AM Nazim Uddin, along with Advocate Zahir Uddin Mahmud, convener of the Shipbreaking Workers' Safety Committee, and Md Ali, the committee's member secretary, expressed deep outrage and strong condemnation in a joint statement.
The leaders said the recurrence of such accidents, even after the Hong Kong Convention became mandatory in July, is deeply regrettable and unacceptable.
They demanded that those responsible be identified and brought to justice without delay, and called for fair compensation and advanced medical care for the injured worker.
