Eight workers were killed and more than 10 injured in a gas explosion at the Ferdous Steel shipyard in Sitakunda, Chattogram, while an old vessel was being cut apart, police said.
Alamgir Hossain, inspector (investigation) at Sitakunda police station, confirmed the toll on Friday afternoon.
Four of the dead have been identified as Sani Jaladas, 22, Palash Jaladas, 27, and two brothers, Mansur Ali, 40, and Nasir Uddin, 38. All were residents of the Bhatiary area.
The explosion happened on Friday morning at Bhatiary in the upazila. The injured were taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital, where several were reported to be in a critical condition.
Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer Fakhrul Islam said five workers had died so far and that more than 10 had been injured. The differing tolls could not immediately be reconciled.
Local residents and witnesses said the blast came without warning, with a loud report, as workers cut into an old vessel. Fire spread at once, burning and injuring several of them. Colleagues, residents, firefighters and police joined the rescue, and the injured were taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital.
The yard’s owner, Ferdous Wahid, said the explosion happened suddenly while cutting was under way. The cause was not immediately established.
Investigators are working on the preliminary assessment that flammable gas or vapour trapped inside the old vessel caused the blast. Whether the ship had been properly gas-freed before cutting began, whether tanks and pipelines were tested, and whether the required safety measures were in place are now central to the inquiry.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report