Published : 16 Aug 2026, 06:30 AM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:33 AM
Toxic hydrogen sulphide has still not been cleared from a ship at Ferdous Steel Ship Breaking Yard in Sitakunda a day after a gas leak killed nine workers.
Experts spent Saturday trying to bring gas levels in the affected section below dangerous limits. They stopped work in the afternoon and will resume on Sunday.
An 11-member industrial ministry probe committee also met at Chattogram Circuit House on Saturday evening and will inspect the shipyard on Sunday.
Industrial Secretary Abdun Naser Khan, who visited the yard, said authorities were investigating the cause and would act if negligence was found.
Gas ‘Built Up in Water Tank’
The 280m LNG carrier MT Rashi was brought to the yard in July 2025 for dismantling.
On Friday morning, workers cutting the lower section of the vessel collapsed after part of a tank was removed. Others who went to rescue them also fell unconscious. Nine died and seven remain hospitalised.
Explosives Directorate Assistant Inspector SM Sakhawat Hossain said the cargo tanks had been inspected and cleared before cutting began.
“The cargo tank was inspected. Nothing happened there. The incident occurred in the water tank, where gas had accumulated. How and why that happened will be known after the investigation,” he said.
Inspectors detected excessive hydrogen sulphide at the site on Friday, he said.
“Twenty ppm is tolerable. Between 20 and 100ppm is dangerous. Above 100ppm, the gas is lethal,” Sakhawat said.
Fire Service and Civil Defence Assistant Director Mohammad Toufiqul Islam Bhuiyan said environment department measurements found 84ppm of gas on Saturday.
“Gas remained at a high level, so work was not carried out [on Saturday]. It will resume [on Sunday],” he said.
The Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board said gas receded when water was poured into the affected section but later reappeared.
Earlier Safety Case
The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments filed a case against the yard in July over safety shortcomings, including inadequate worker awareness, missing risk assessments and unpaid overtime.
Officials said the yard had been repeatedly notified to correct the violations but failed to provide an adequate response.
Nine deaths have now prompted the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board to suspend all activities at the yard until further notice.
