04 May 2012

Death again at ship-scrap yard: Worker dies falling from scrap ship

A worker died after being crushed by a ship's hydraulic door at a shipbreaking yard in Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong yesterday morning.

The deceased, identified as Md Mansur Ali, 32, of Naogaon, was working at Seema Ship Breaking Yard located at Madambibir Hat in the upazila.

At about 10:20am, foreman Mansur tried to enter the ship's engine room through its heavy hydraulic door. As Mansur was entering the room, the opened door swung back crushing him against the ship's wall and killing him instantly, said Nur Mohammad, officer-in-charge of Sitakunda Police Station, quoting staff of the yard.

Another worker was killed in an accident at the same shipbreaking yard on February 28 this year.

At least 38 workers were killed and many others injured in accidents at shipbreaking yards in the last 44 months.

Most of these accidents have been attributed to lack of adequate safety precautions in shipbreaking yards and the country's apex court had on several occasions asked the government to frame rules and enforce them to ensure safety of the workers.

Though the shipbreaking sector has been declared an industry recently, the court's directive regarding the safety measures are yet to be implemented.

Source: The Daily Star. 3 May 2012
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=37438

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