Sitakunda shipyard explosion: 1 dead, 7 critically injured, probe body formed

One of the victims who sustained critical burn injuries in an explosion at SN Corporation ship-breaking yard in Chattogram’s Sitakunda died on the way to Dhaka on Saturday (7 September).

The remaining seven critically injured were admitted to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

The deceased was identified as Mohammad Ahmad Ullah, 38, the safety manager of the yard. 

The remaining seven injured are Md. Jahangir Alam,48, Abul Kashem, 39, Barkat Ullah, 23, Anwar Hossain, 45, Khairul Islam, 21, Al-Amin, 23, and Habib, 35.

Nazmul Hossein, secretary of the Bangladesh Ship Breakers and Recyclers Association confirmed the death to The Business Standard on Sunday morning and said, “Ahmad Ullah, the safety manager of the yard, died on the way to Dhaka last night around 10:30pm. The other seven injured have been admitted to the hospital.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry (MoI) has ordered the suspension of SN Corporation’s operations until further notice. The MoI has also formed a committee to investigate the incident.

A letter signed by Sanjoy Kumar Ghose, deputy secretary of the MoI, on Saturday, notified that the yard’s operations would remain suspended until further notice.

It was also mentioned in the letter that a probe committee will be formed.  

Earlier on Saturday (7 September) at around 11:40am, an explosion occurred in the pump house of a tanker ship when workers were performing cutting operations in the Tentultala area of Sonaichari Union in Sitakunda upazila. 

A total of 12 people sustained critical injuries in the explosion, eight from burns and four from blast-related injuries. 

They were rescued and admitted to the burn unit of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH). As the condition of eight of the injured worsened, they were sent to Dhaka for better treatment.