Saiful (22), Nawab Ali (27), Milon Mandal (25), Belal (25), Roni (26), Razzaque (40) and Shahid (28) were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) with severe burn injuries. Others were treated in local clinics. All the victims hailed from different areas of Jamalpur district.
Among them, Saiful, Nawab and Milon's condition was critical.
The accident took place at Z N Enterprise, a shipbreaking yard, owned by one Shawkat Ali Chowdhury, in Madam Bibirhat area of Sitakunda at 11:00 am Sunday.
Havildar Asim Kumar Barua of CMCH police check-post said, "The workers were brought to the hospital at around 12:30 pm."
Z N Enterprise manager Mohammad Rafique said that the workers were slightly burnt as a pipe caught fire while breaking an abandoned ship.
"Their condition is not that bad," he claimed.
Shipbreaking yards often witness deaths mostly due to lack of safety measures.
A vast industry: minimum care
Shipbreaking is flagged as 'Category Red', or 'extremely hazardous' industry in Bangladesh
It produces thousands of tonnes of scrap iron used by re-rolling mills, but serious concerns prevail over work safety as well as environmental standards.
There are around 87 such yards in Sitakunda, where about 30,000 people are employed in hazardous working conditions, making it one of the largest shipbreaking centres in the world.
Workers dismantle ships by hand without proper machinery, protective gear or training. The yard owners also compel workers to dismantle ships without clearing them of toxic materials.
According to some estimates, at least 400 shipbreakers have died over the past 20 years in Sitakunda's yards.
30% of the world's abandoned ships are recycled in Bangladesh
Ships broken up in Bangladesh
The government's attempts to impose strict environmental standards ended with an about-face within 3 months after strikes threatened the country's steel industry.
Source: The Financial Express. 16 August 2010
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