The investigative committee on Sunday said that the fire that took place in the oxygen plant in Chittagong's Sitakunda upazila was caused due to the inefficiency or negligence of the factory authorities.
Dr Suman Barua, professor of Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of Chittagong University, a newly joined member of the committee, initially said the explosion was caused due to overpressure in the separation of the plant's compressor.
He said: “Apparently, we think this explosion could be due to the pressure on the plate that is in the separation. The thing about pressure release may not have been done correctly. It seems for now that it could not take the accumulated pressure and finally exploded.”
When asked whether the pressure build-up in column was due to human error or negligence, he said: "We have already asked some questions to their engineers and plant in-charges. They have not yet given us a proper answer, perhaps they are not entirely clear.”
“We felt they lacked the skills. If it's not a matter of incompetence, then they were probably careless,” he added.
Earlier, the investigation committee started working at 12pm on Sunday. Later in the afternoon, after visiting the spot, Additional District Magistrate Rakib Hasan, head of the investigation committee, spoke to the reporters.
“Initially, we suspect the blast originated in the air separation column of the oxygen plant. We need to carry out more investigation to find out what actually had happened,” he said.
Md Mamun, managing director of the factory, said: “This factory has been running for 27 years since 1996. We have never seen such an incident. I would say it was an accident.”
He denied that the employees there were incompetent, adding that most of them having working for over 20 years there.
The explosion at Seema Oxygen Plant on Saturday rattled neighbouring areas and engulfed them in thick black smoke. Locals said the massive explosion shook at least two square kilometres of the surrounding area.
