Improper management, negligence blamed primarily

Deadly industrial accidents, including fire and explosions, continue to occur in Chattogram due to the negligence of industry management and the lack of proper monitoring by the authorities concerned.

The incident that occurred on Saturday at Sheema Oxygen Plant could have been more deadly as several other oxygen plants, re-rolling mills, and edible oil factories, where hundreds of workers are employed, are located within a half-kilometer radius of the site.

Both the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) department and the plant authority claimed that they had obtained the necessary clearances from the FSCD.

However, upon visiting the wrecked plant on Sunday, this correspondents noticed only a few small red buckets and fire extinguishers lying on the premises.

There were no sufficient arrangements or equipped measures for fire-fighting at the risky plant of oxygen refilling.

The probe body formed immediately to investigate the massive explosion at Sheema Oxygen Plant at Sitakunda upazila in Chattogram primarily identified the operational authorities’ negligence and improper management as reasons for Saturday’s blast.

The seven-member probe committee, headed by Chattogram’s additional district magistrate Rakib Hasan, on Sunday afternoon visited the industrial oxygen producing plant with a capacity of 14,000 cylinders per day.

The probe body interviewed the plant workers, witnesses, local people and oxygen plant owners.

After the visit, the committee chief, Rakib Hasan, said that they primarily identified negligence by the operational authorities as the reason for explosion that killed at least six people.

‘We visited the oxygen plant. We came to know the explosion occurred at the oxygen producing column due to overpressure or gas accumulation,’ he said, adding that they would submit the report as soon as possible.

Abdul Malek, assistant director of Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defence, said that they suspected that the explosion occurred at the main plant.

‘The oxygen producing column was constructed in 1996 and the company is using the column for producing oxygen from air without replacing it from the beginning. There might be technical faults which were not addressed earlier,’ he said.

The fire service finished rescue operation at 3:00 pm on Sunday, according to the officer.

A similar scenario was also observed after the deadly explosion at 'BM Container Depot' in the same area, which claimed the lives of 50 people and injured 250 others on June 4 last year.

The probe committee formed to investigate the devastating fire at the depot submitted its report, holding the depot authority and other concerned government agencies responsible for the accident.

When asked, FSCD Chattogram Chief Deputy Director Md Abdul Halim stated that the plant was running its operations after obtaining necessary clearance from them.

However, when asked about measures including training and equipment to combat any accident like the one that occurred on Saturday, Halim claimed that since there was an explosion before the fire at the plant, people could do nothing initially.

He defended the lack of equipped measures for firefighting.

Two officials from the Explosive Department also visited the ruined oxygen plant on Sunday morning.

They inspected the plant for around an hour and concluded that the blast did not take place at the refilling station of the plant but might have happened at the column from which the oxygen is distilled.

However, the cause behind the explosion can only be ascertained after a proper investigation.

Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) President Mahbubul Alam emphasized the need to carry out an investigation properly so that the real cause behind the accident and negligence can be unearthed.

The business leader strongly recommended proper vigilance by the concerned government agencies to ensure compliance, including training for workers, to reduce casualties in the future.

The FSCD department concluded their operation at the plant as there were no claims of missing persons until Sunday noon.

The security guards of the plant were seen performing their duties on the premises, and the odor of gas was detected emanating from the wreckage and damaged cylinders.

Sheema Group Manager Abdul Alim visited the plant nearly 20 hours after the explosion and claimed that the factory had "updated" security measures, including fire and other licenses.

However, he stated that he had no idea how the explosion took place. He also committed to providing all facilities to the deceased and injured persons and coordinating with the administration.

Sources revealed that Sheema Oxygen Limited, a sister concern of Sheema Group, produces oxygen for industrial use at their plant in the Kadam Rasul area under the upazila.

The oxygen is mainly used by shipbreaking yards to cut the big iron plates of ships using gas cutters.