Abdun Naser Khan, secretary of the Ministry of Industries, on Saturday said the hydrogen sulfide gaswas responsible for the deaths of nine workers at a ship recycling yard in Bhatiary, Sitakunda, Chittagong.
The Department of Explosives has detected abnormally high levels of hydrogen sulfide gas aboard the vessel involved in the accident at Ferdous Ship Recycling Yard.
He made the remarks while speaking to reporters after inspecting the accident site on Saturday.
Three separate committees have been formed to investigate the accident, he said. The committees were formed by the Ministry of Industries, Chittagong district administration and Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board (BSRB).
The ministry’s 11-member committee is headed by an additional secretary, while the district administration and BSRB committees have nine and five members, respectively.
The committees have been asked to determine what happened before and after the accident and whether there was any negligence or dereliction of duty. They have been instructed to submit their reports quickly, and action will be taken if negligence is found, the secretary said.
The toxic gas trapped inside the vessel will be safely removed by experts, Abdun Naser said, adding that maximum safety measures would be taken to prevent similar accidents.
The accident occurred around 9am on Friday aboard the 30,770-tonne scrap vessel MT Rashi at Ferdous Steel’s yard. The vessel had previously been used to transport LNG.
The company received environmental clearance to dismantle the vessel at a Department of Environment meeting in July 2025.
According to the administration, nine workers have so far died in the accident.
Eyewitnesses said workers were nearing completion of cutting the vessel’s LNG tank. Around 8:30am, about 10 minutes after cutting began around a tank at the bottom of the vessel, workers entered the area to remove it.
Two workers initially collapsed. Two others fell ill while trying to rescue them. The cutting foreman then entered the area and also lost consciousness. A safety officer who entered wearing a mask to investigate also collapsed.
Workers were subsequently exposed to the toxic gas one after another while attempting to rescue their colleagues.
The accident has raised questions over whether the presence of toxic gas had been checked before work began and whether proper safety procedures had been followed to declare the area safe.
