A toxic gas leak at a shipbreaking yard in Bangladesh on Friday resulted in the deaths of at least eight workers. Authorities have reported that five additional workers are still missing. The incident occurred when gas escaped from a vessel at the yard, prompting a swift response from local police and emergency services.
Witnesses said they heard screams from inside the yard in the southeastern port city of Chittagong before workers rushed some of the victims to hospital.
Ferdous has not made any public comment about the incident.
Senior police official Abdul Kuddus Chowdhury said eight people had died and authorities were searching for the missing workers. “A committee has been formed to investigate the incident, and the authorities have ordered an audit of the shipbreaking yard,” Chowdhury told AFP. But fire service official Towfiqul Islam Bhuiyan said safety procedures appeared to have been defied, as the vessel should have been free of any gas before cutting began.
