Shipbreaking yard gas leak: Two brothers went to work on weekend, never came home
Relatives and locals called for an investigation into why workers were allegedly called to the yard on a weekly holiday and whether adequate safety measures were in place.
For brothers – Mansur and Nasir, Friday was supposed to be a day of rest.
Instead, they were called to work at Ferdous Steel Shipbreaking Yard in Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram early yesterday morning (14 August). Within hours, they were taken to hospital as lifeless.
The brothers, residents of Moulvipara in Bhatiari under the same upazila, were among nine workers killed after a gas leak at the shipbreaking yard.
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Mansur, 55, had worked at the yard for 17 years as a foreman, while his younger brother Nasir, 50, had spent nearly the same length of time there as a cutterman.
Their family said the brothers were called to work around 7am despite Friday being the yard's weekly holiday. They reached the factory around 7:30am. The accident occurred between 8am and 8:30am.
After hearing about the incident, family members rushed to the yard but said they were not allowed to enter. Later, angry locals broke open the factory gate and joined the rescue operation, helping recover injured workers, according to relatives and residents.
'He wanted to rest that day'
Two daughters survive Mansur. One is married, while the other is still studying. He was the sole earner for his family. Nasir leaves behind his only daughter, Eva, a class-X student.
Eva said her father was asleep at home when he received the call to report to work.
"It was Friday and my father wanted to rest. He did not want to go to work. But he was called to the factory and eventually returned as a body," she said.
The bodies of the two brothers were kept at Chattogram Medical College Hospital.
Family members alleged that no senior official from Ferdous Steel was present at the hospital, making it difficult for them to complete the formalities to receive the bodies.
Gas leak triggered rescue effort
Ferdous Steel Managing Director Ferdous Wahid told The Business Standard that the yard's safety team detected a gas leak from a tank in the engine room of a vessel.
Workers entered the area to inspect the leak and became unconscious, he said. Others who rushed in to rescue them also lost consciousness. Initially, around 10 workers were taken to hospitals, three of whom died, according to him.
By around 4pm, police and fire service officials said nine bodies had been recovered from hospitals and the yard. Six were at the Chattogram Hospital, one at National Hospital and two remained at the shipbreaking yard.
Fire service officials suspected that carbon monoxide or another toxic gas may have caused the accident.
'They were the only earners'
The deaths of the two brothers cast a pall of grief over Moulvipara, where relatives and neighbours gathered at their home.
Imon, a relative of Mansur, said the brothers had spent years working at shipbreaking yards to support their families.
"They were very hardworking. They worked for years to keep their families going. Now both brothers are gone. Their families have become helpless," he said.
For Mansur's daughters and Nasir's daughter Eva, the tragedy means losing not only their fathers but also the people their families depended on financially.
Residents demand compensation
Relatives and locals have demanded adequate compensation for the families of the deceased and long-term support for those who have lost their sole breadwinners.
They also called for an investigation into why workers were allegedly called to the yard on a weekly holiday and whether adequate safety measures were in place.
They demanded that those responsible for the deaths be identified and punished.
For Mansur and Nasir's families, the tragedy began with a phone call on what should have been a day of rest. They went to work. They never came home.
