Two workers lost their lives at a shipbreaking yard in in Bangladesh, on Saturday, October 12. According to local sources, the probable cause of the deaths may have been that they inhaled toxic gas.
Thew two workers fell ill after inhaling toxic gas, and were transported to the hospital for treatment. However, they eventually died.
Last month, another two workers died in Chittagong shipbreaking yard. The incident was reported at Ziri Subedar ship-breaking yard in Sitakunda, Chattogram, around 5:15 pm on Saturday, local media report.
In particular, some workers of the ship-breaking yard were climbing an old ship with ladder made of rope, but the rope was torn down and 12 to 15 workers fell down.
Dangerous shipbreaking in Bangladesh is a great area of concern for human rights organizations and working unions around the world, over the unsafe working conditions and polluting ship dismantling practices.
To address this situation, In late 2018, IMO launched the second phase of a joint project with Norway (SENSREC), aimed to enhance safe and environmentally sound ship recycling in Bangladesh.
The 19-month project, funded under a US$1.1 million agreement with Norway, will focus on legal and institutional analysis of ship recycling in the country and will develop a roadmap for the Government of Bangladesh to accede to Hong Kong Convention.
